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Chapter 15 (Family Law Rules; rules 1500–1521): the subject matter of the family law division and the rules applicable to family law cases; changing the child custody recommending counselor (Rule 1510); child custody recommending counseling procedures and ex parte communications (Rule 1511); the child custody evaluation process (Rule 1512: qualifications, ex parte communication, the list of evaluators and complaint procedures); complaints about appointed counsel for minors (Rule 1513); the priority of protective orders (Rule 1516); case management (Rule 1517); the setting of contested trials by At-Issue Memorandum (Rule 1518); status conferences and mandatory settlement conferences, governed by the family law policy (Rule 1519); and continuances (Rule 1521).
California > Fourth Appellate District > San Bernardino County > Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino
CHAPTER 15 FAMILY LAW RULES RULE 1500 SUBJECT MATTER OF THE FAMILY LAW DIVISION All of the following types of proceedings must be filed in the Family Law Division of the Court: A. Dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership; B. Legal Separation of marriage or domestic partnership; C. Nullity of marriage or domestic partnership and determination of rights of putative spouses under the Family Code; D. Proceedings under the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act; E. Proceedings under the Uniform Parentage Act; F. Marvin cases, as set forth in Rule 1517(b), below G. Proceedings under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act; H. Proceedings under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act; I. Proceedings for Child Support, under Part 2 of Division 9 of the Family Code; J. Proceedings to terminate parental rights and adoption pursuant to the Family Code; and K. Proceedings for visitation rights of non-parents pursuant to the Family Code. (Eff. January 1, 2017.) RULE 1501 RULES APPLICABLE TO FAMILY LAW CASES The Rules under this Chapter are applicable to all Family Law cases, and take precedence over other Local Rules which are in conflict with the rules set forth herein. (Eff. July 1, 2017.) RULE 1510 CHANGE OF CHILD CUSTODY RECOMMENDING COUNSELOR A request for change of child custody recommending counselor shall be addressed to the Family Court Services Supervisor. If the request for change is not satisfactorily resolved, it may be brought to the attention of the Manager of the Family and Children’s Services Division. Child Custody Recommending Counselor: The request for a change of child custody recommending counselor shall be made prior to the beginning of the child custody recommending session. The request will be granted as requested by either party or if ordered by a judicial officer. Complaints about the services of child custody recommending counselors shall be addressed to the Family Court Services Supervisor in the district in which the case is being heard. If the complaint is not satisfactorily resolved, it may be addressed to the Manager of the Family and Children’s Services Division (Eff. July 1, 1998. Amended January 1, 1999, July 1, 2003, July 1, 2011 and July 1, 2012.) RULE 1511 CHILD CUSTODY RECOMMENDING COUNSELING Rule 1511.1 Child Custody Recommending Counseling Procedures The parties’ attorneys do not participate in child custody recommending counseling. If the parties reach an agreement during child custody recommending counseling, it will be memorialized in writing and submitted to them or their attorneys before the Request for Order (RFO) hearing for which the recommendation is made. If the parties and their attorneys approve the parties’ agreement, they will submit the agreement to the Court for the Court’s approval and adoption as an order. If the parties are unable to resolve issues of custody or visitation by child custody recommending counseling, the child custody recommending counselor will submit a written recommendation and reasons for the recommendation to the parties and/or their attorneys and the court. The Court will consider the recommendation at the time of the RFO hearing. At the hearing, the child custody recommending counselor may be called as a witness by either party, subject to cross examination. (Former Family Law Rule 1510.1, eff. July 1, 1998, amended, July 1, 1999, and January 1, 2003. Renumbered as Rule 1511.1, eff. July 1, 2003. Amended, eff. July 1, 2011, and July 1, 2012. As amended, eff. January 1, 2017.) Rule 1511.2 Ex Parte The Court adopts California Rules of Court, Rule 5.235, with regard to ex parte communications with any court-connected or court-appointed child custody mediator, evaluator or child custody recommending counselor. (Former Family Law Rule 1510.2, eff. January 1, 2003. Renumbered as Rule 1511.2, eff. July 1, 2003. Amended, eff. July 1, 2011. As amended, eff. January 1, 2017.) RULE 1512 EVALUATION PROCESS Rule 1512.1 Qualifications and requirements All child custody evaluators shall meet the minimum qualifications, training, continuing education and experience requirements pursuant to the California Rules of Court, Rule 5.220(g), Rule 5.225(c) through (i) and adhere to all other requirements of Rules 5.220 and 5.225. (Eff. July 1, 2003. As amended, eff. January 1, 2017.) Rule 1512.2 Ex parte communication The evaluator may have ex parte contact with either attorney or party at any time during the evaluation process for the limited purpose of obtaining necessary information. If during the course of the evaluation, a party by oral communication raises issues or allegations which can influence the evaluation, the evaluator shall give the other party an opportunity to respond before completing the evaluation report. (Eff. July 1, 2003. Amended, eff. July 1, 2012. As amended, eff. January 1, 2017.) Rule 1512.4 Compliance with Rules of Court All child custody evaluations shall comply with California Rules of Court, Rules 5.210 - 5.235. (Eff. July 1, 2003. As amended, eff. January 1, 2017.) Rule 1512.5 List of Evaluators Family and Children’s Services Division maintains a list of qualified evaluators and has an established procedure for informing the public and the Court of their availability. (Eff. January 1, 2007. Amended, eff. July 1, 2012. As amended, eff. January 1, 2017.) Rule 1512.6 Complaint procedures If a written complaint about a court-appointed evaluator is received by the hearing bench officer and/or Family Court Services, or the bench officer has a complaint, the matter will be referred to the Supervising Family Law bench officer who will then investigate the merit of the complaint and determine if further action should be taken. (Eff. January 1, 2007.) RULE 1513 COMPLAINT PROCEDURE REGARDING APPOINTED COUNSEL FOR MINORS In a family law proceeding in which the Court has appointed counsel for minor children, any party to the proceeding wishing to lodge a complaint with the Court concerning the professional conduct or performance of the appointed counsel must do so in writing. The Supervising Judge of Family Law, or designated judicial officer, will review all complaints received, and may obtain additional information prior to making a determination on the complaint. If it is determined that the written complaint does not present reasonable cause to support a finding of misconduct, the complainant will be informed in writing that further review is not warranted. If the complaint is deemed to be of merit, the complainant will be notified that the matter will be reviewed further. The minor’s counsel will be provided a summary of the complaint and an opportunity to provide a written response. The reviewing judge will determine what action, if any, will be taken. Notice of determination will be sent to the complainant and minor’s counsel. Any appeal of the decision must be made in writing to the Presiding Judge of the San Bernardino Superior Court within 10 days after notice of the determination has been sent to the complainant and minor’s counsel. The appealing party will be informed of the determination of the Presiding Judge. (Eff. January 1, 2010. Renumbered as Rule 1513 and amended, eff. January 1, 2017.) 1514 GUIDELINES FOR DETERMINING PAYMENT OF APPOINTED COUNSEL FOR MINORS (a) General guidelines Whenever counsel is appointed to represent children under Family Code, section 3150, the Court should determine the ability of the parties to pay all or a portion of the costs of counsel appointed. (b) Determination of ability to pay If a party is currently eligible for a fee waiver under Government Code, section 68511.3 (in forma pauperis), the party should be deemed unable to pay any part of the costs of the appointed counsel. In all other cases, the Court should determine ability to pay based on the party’s income and assets reasonably available. The Court may require the party to file and serve a current income and expense statement unless the party has already filed one in the proceeding that represents the party’s financial status at the time of the determination. The court may make the determination of the ability to pay at the time of appointment of counsel, or thereafter at the request of appointed counsel but not later than 30 days after appointed counsel is relieved as attorney of record. (Eff., July 1, 2003. As amended, eff. January 1, 2017.) RULE 1516 FAMILY LAW COURT PRIORITY OF PROTECTIVE ORDERS AND MODIFICATION In hearing any case involving any issue of domestic violence, child custody or visitation, the judicial officer shall make a reasonable inquiry about the existence of any criminal court protective orders involving the parties to the action currently before the Court. The priority of restraining and protective orders regarding domestic violence, child custody or visitation or modification thereof must comply with Local Rule 1311. (Eff., July 1, 2003. Amended, eff. January 1, 2008. As amended, eff. January 1, 2017.) RULE 1517 CASE MANAGEMENT (a) Marvin Actions All Marvin actions shall initially be filed as a separate proceeding in the Family Law Division. Upon the court's own motion, or if a timely request for a jury trial is made and granted, the assigned judicial officer shall consult with the supervising judge to determine whether the matter will remain in the Family Law Division for trial. (b) Case Assignment New cases are assigned to a judicial officer for all purposes. All appearances in the case must be made before the assigned judicial officer, unless otherwise ordered. (Eff. July 1, 2004. Amended, July 1, 2013, and July 1, 2014. As amended, eff. January 1, 2017.) RULE 1518 SETTING OF CONTESTED TRIALS Either party may request the Court to set contested issues for trial by filing an At-Issue Memorandum, San Bernardino Local Form No. SB 12389. A Status Conference will be set and the parties will be notified of the date and time of the Status Conference. In the event that the case settles, both parties shall immediately notify the trial court, so that the trial date may be vacated. (Eff. July 1, 2008. Former Rule 1520, amended and renumbered as Rule 1518, eff. January 1, 2017.) RULE 1519 STATUS CONFERENCES AND MANDATORY SETTLEMENT CONFERENCES Status conferences and mandatory settlement conferences in Family Law cases shall be governed by the Family Law Status Conferences and Mandatory Settlement Conferences Policy. (Eff. January 1, 2017.) RULE 1521 CONTINUANCES Continuances in Family Law cases shall be governed by the Family Law Continuance Policy, posted at www.sb-court.org. (Eff. July 1, 2004. As amended, eff. January 1, 2017.)
CHAPTER 15 FAMILY LAW RULES RULE 1500 SUBJECT MATTER OF THE FAMILY LAW DIVISION All of the following types of proceedings must be filed in the Family Law Division of the Court: A. Dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership; B. Legal Separation of marriage or domestic partnership; C. Nullity of marriage or domestic partnership and determination of rights of putative spouses under the Family Co
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-07 (California T4 San Bernardino build 2026-10-07) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-san-bernardino/docs/local-rules/rulesofcourt.pdf (1185461 bytes, sha256 d6522f541ac18b5d604318763e09eff2cb8c22c4442a284858e16d3a7bf12d97; 130 pages; this chapter is pages 67 to 70) with the shared verbatim composer (v2 reflow). The book is a redline (“All new content has been underlined. Content to be deleted is stricken through”): the struck-through text is not in force and was taken out as chrome, the underlined text kept; the running header (Superior Court of California, County of San Bernardino), the page numbers and Word's hidden bookmark labels removed as chrome; the front matter, subject index and local forms lists belong to no chapter card; lines reflowed into the court's paragraphs, each rule heading on its own line; proof 1 (whitespace-only) and proof 2 (same character multiset as the text layer minus chrome) pass.
Division XI: information forms for data processing (Rule 11.2); required action - action taken on all calendared cases and a future date always set (Rule 11.19); and pro tem judges - an attorney named as a plaintiff in a civil or small claims case may not sit as a judge pro-tem during the case or within six months following its resolution, nor one named as a defendant in two or more such cases (Rule 11.22). Rules 11.1, 11.3 to 11.5, 11.7 to 11.18, 11.20 and 11.21 are repealed, and Rule 11.6 (voluntary arbitration; see Local Rule 10.2) was repealed and renumbered.
Duval County's indigent-defense and magistration rules under the Texas Fair Defense Act (S.B. 7): who may be booked into the county jail and on what paper; arrest-case numbering; presentment to a magistrate within 48 hours (art. 15.16); the magistrate's warnings, counsel inquiry, interpreter duty, indigence determination and appointment of counsel within 24 hours of a request; the alternative appointment plan under art. 26.04(g)-(h) with annual applications, seven attorney categories (capital, first and second degree, third degree/state jail/misdemeanor, competency, appeals, post-conviction, extradition), CLE and experience standards, random rotation within each category, written acceptance within 48 hours, first contact by the end of the next working day, replacement and suspension of counsel, fee applications within five days of completing services and the compensation attachment ($500 pleas; $175/$150 hourly; $1,400 per jury-trial day; appellate caps); bail schedules by offense class with a personal bond office (fee $20 or 3%), pre-trial supervision and revocation hearings within two working days; arraignment settings and notice; repeal of conflicting rules.