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A copy of the filed petition and related documents, and of any document filed later, provided to Family Court Services (Room 204, Visalia Courthouse) or to the counter clerks at the South County Justice Center; once the court orders a relative guardianship investigation (Probate Code Section 1513(g)), a Court Investigator interviewing the petitioners and the children and reporting on the children's best interest, whether the guardianship is necessary or convenient and whether the guardians are suitable, with a check of local court records and a CLETS criminal background check on each legal parent in a confidential report, the investigators having 90 days; changes of contact information reported to Family Court Services at (559) 730-5000, Option 6, and filed; the mandatory local Guardianship Questionnaire (PRO-004) completed accurately and in detail; the Live Scan Fingerprint forms obtained from the Self-Help Resource Center after the Declaration of Completion of Guardianship Orientation is filed, Live Scan completed by each proposed guardian and each household member age 18 and over, and a copy of the completed form given to Family Court Services or the SCJC front counter; the report filed and mailed to the parties (Probate Code Section 1513(d)), any investigation fee ordered paid at the hearing, separate from the filing fee and waivable with a fee waiver; after appointment, contact changes filed on form MC-040 with a copy to Family Court Services, and the Annual Status Report (GC-251) for each child every year until the child reaches 18 or the guardianship ends, Family Court Services mailing a blank report about 60 days before the month the guardianship was granted and a report not filed set for an order to show cause; Family Court Services called if no investigator has called within 30 days, investigators returning calls within 48 hours; and a dismissal filed and served on Family Court Services to end the process.
California > Fifth Appellate District > Tulare County > Superior Court of California, County of Tulare
For general guardianship information, see www.tulare.courts.ca.gov/divisions/probate Once your petition for guardianship and related guardianship documents are filed with the Court, you or your attorney will provide a copy of your filed documents to Family Court Services, Room 204, at the Visalia Courthouse; or provide a set to the counter clerks at the South County Justice Center, which will be routed to Family Court Services. A copy of any subsequently filed documents should be provided to Family Court Services. GUARDIANSHIP INVESTIGATION PROCESS: Once the Court has ordered Family Court Services (FCS) to conduct a Relative guardianship investigation {see Probate Code Section 1513(g)}, your case will be assigned to a Court Investigator. The Court Investigator will be contacting the petitioners and the children to conduct interviews and to write a report and recommendation to the Court regarding whether it is in the child/ren’s best interest for the guardianship to be granted, whether it is necessary or convenient, and whether you are a suitable guardian/s. If you have a change in contact information, it is mandatory that you notify Family Court Services staff at (559) 730-5000, Option 6 with this updated information. You will be directed to contact the Self-Help Resource Center or your attorney to file the necessary change of contact information with the Court, and to provide FCS with a copy. If FCS staff are not able to reach you to conduct the interviews, this will delay your court process. When the Court Investigator contacts you (the petitioner/s), the Court Investigator will ask you questions regarding the legal parents of the child/ren, and about you and your household members so that an inquiry may be made to obtain any Child Welfare Services involvement with the family. This is why the accurate and detailed information is necessary in the mandatory local form, Guardianship Questionnaire (PRO-004). If this information is incomplete, this may also delay your court process. In addition, the Court Investigators check local court records on the parties in the case and provide a summary of this information to the Court in a confidential report to the Court. The Court Investigator will also obtain a CLETS criminal background check on each legal parent and summarize this information in a confidential report to the Court. In addition, the Court Investigator will inquire into the status of the completion of the Mandatory Online Guardianship Orientation video by EACH petitioner (proposed Guardian) and the completion and filing of the mandatory Declaration of Completion of Online Orientation. After the Declaration of Completion of Guardianship Orientation is filed with the Court, the parties shall obtain the Live Scan Fingerprint forms from the Self-Help Resource Center at either Court location. The Court Investigator will also inquire into the status of the completion of the required Live Scan Fingerprinting for EACH proposed Guardian and each household member age 18 and over (hyperlink to probate Background check tile in Probate Division). It can sometimes take months to receive results on parties from the Department of Justice, so it is important this is completed ASAP, otherwise it may cause a delay in the investigation. Please remember to turn in a copy of the completed Live Scan form to FCS or to the front counter at SCJC, who will forward it to FCS staff. This way we can track your results. ***Failure to complete the Mandatory Online Orientation and filing the declaration for EACH Proposed Guardian, as well as failure to complete the Live Scan process for EACH proposed Guardian and EACH ADULT HOUSEHOLD member is the most common reason why investigations are delayed. Once the investigation is completed, a copy of the Guardianship Report will be filed with the Court and mailed to the parties of record by FCS pursuant to Probate Code Section 1513(d) (hyperlink). If the Court assess a fee for the Court Investigation, you will be ordered to pay these fees at the time of the Court hearing. This is a separate fee than the filing fee and may be waived if a fee waiver is granted by the Court. What Happens After Guardianship is Granted? Once the guardianship is granted, the Court will remind the Guardians to file with the Court any contact information changes immediately using the MC-040, referenced below. The Court will also notify the Guardian/s that they are required to complete an Annual Status Report (GC-251) for EACH CHILD EVERY YEAR until the child reaches the age of 18 or the guardianship terminates. FCS will mail out a blank Status Review to the address of record for each child about 60 days prior to the month the Guardianship is granted. If this is not received timely from the Guardian/s, the matter will be set for court hearing for an order to show cause why the guardianship should not be terminated for failure of the guardian to perform the Duties of a Guardian. Change of Contact Information: Please complete and file the MC-040 NOTICE OF CHANGE OF ADDRESS OR OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION (ca.gov), and provide a copy to Family Court Services. Annual Status Report: Located here GC-251 CONFIDENTIAL GUARDIANSHIP STATUS REPORT (ca.gov) FAQs When is the court investigator conducting interviews? The investigator will contact you as soon as they are able to based on their workload. The Investigators receive 90 days to conduct the investigation. This includes the time that is needed to obtain records back from background checks and child welfare services inquiry, and to conduct the interviews with the petitioners and children. How do I find out who my court investigator is? The investigator should reach out to you within the first few weeks of being appointed by the Court. If you have not received a call within 30 days of the court referring the matter to FCS for investigation, you may contact FCS at 559-730-5000, Option 6 and request the name and telephone number of the assigned investigator. Court Investigators are off site conducting investigations, and therefore will return your call within 48 hours of receipt, unless they are out of the office. Why do I have a Social Worker from Child Welfare Services contacting me and the children, and a Court Investigator? This is a common question. If there are allegations of child abuse, neglect or abandonment made by the proposed guardians, the Court may refer the matter to Child Welfare Services to investigate and determine if the child/ren fall under Welfare and Institutions Code section 300 and whether the parents should be offered services in order to reunify with the children; and whether the children fall under their jurisdiction. A Social Worker from Child Welfare Services will conduct an investigation and write a report to the Court only notifying the Court whether or not they will be offering services to the parents and/or Guardians, and whether or not they will be taking jurisdiction of the child/ren. The Court Investigator’s role in probate guardianships is to interview relative proposed guardians and determine whether the guardianship is necessary or convenient, in the child’s best interest, and if the guardians are suitable. The report from the Court investigator will be mailed to the parties of record. Where do I take the mandatory online Orientation and Declaration form to file with the Court? See the information noted above. Where do I get the Live Scan forms to submit for the proposed guardians and all adult household members? See the information noted above – Self Help Resource Center. Where do I take the completed Live Scan form? To Family Court Services in Visalia (Room 204) or to the front counter at the clerk’s office at SCJC, which will be routed to FCS for tracking the results. What if I decide I do not want to continue to pursue guardianship during this process? You may file a dismissal with the Court. Please contact the Self-Help Resource Center or your attorney for direction. Please be sure to serve these documents on Family Court Services. What if I want to Terminate the Guardianship? Visit the Probate Guardianship Page Related Links Probate Guardianships in CA Read About Probate Guardianships in CA Local Self-Help Resource Center Local Self-Help Resource Center Local Forms and Packet Information Local Forms and Packet Information
For general guardianship information, see www.tulare.courts.ca.gov/divisions/probate Once your petition for guardianship and related guardianship documents are filed with the Court, you or your attorney will provide a copy of your filed documents to Family Court Services, Room 204, at the Visalia Courthouse; or provide a set to the counter clerks at the South County Justice Center, which will be r
Reviewer note: Composed 2026-10-14 (California T4 Tulare build 2026-10-14) from BenchPath custody ca/t4/ca-tulare/pages/guardianship-investigations.html (the page as fetched 2026-10-14; 633619 bytes, sha256 fd401e000fd3408e245c4df735c7a8545fff8470befe1b9012053b634b7a7988) with the Orange HTML composer (compose-site.py, the Judicial Council theme's area): the article's content sections (section.jcc-section), news bodies (div.jcc-news-full) and title banners (div.jcc-hero; the first banner's heading, the page title, is chrome) - the site header, menus, breadcrumb and footer lie outside them; each block starts a line and each table cell is set on its own line; chrome removed: 1 item (the page title, “Guardianship Investigations”); proof (the multiset of non-space characters equals the containers' text less chrome and scripts) passes. Review note: The page has the Live Scan forms obtained from the Self-Help Resource Center; the Mandatory Background Check page (carded) says from Family Court Services - the review task on that card asks which office issues them.
6 verbatim requirements on divisional requirements in GIUSEPPINA MIRANDA's division.
4 verbatim requirements on divisional requirements in HILARY CREARY's division.