Child Custody in Riverside County: How Orders Are Made, the CCRC Appointment, and the Forms

Unmarried parents who are both legal parents (for example, both signed a voluntary declaration of parentage) can use either petition¹⁰.

Legal custody is who makes important decisions about the child’s health care, education and welfare. Physical custody is where the child lives most of the time. Each can be joint or sole⁴. Visitation, also called parenting time, can be scheduled, reasonable (open-ended), supervised, none where even supervised visits would harm the child, or virtual by video⁴.

The court’s primary concern is the child’s health, safety and welfare. The Legislature also declared a policy of frequent and continuing contact with both parents after separation, except where that contact would not be in the child’s best interest; where the two conflict, the order protects the child’s health, safety and welfare and the safety of all family members (Family Code section 3020)⁵.

Section 3040 sets an order of preference: custody to both parents jointly or to either parent; if neither, the person in whose home the child has been living in a wholesome and stable environment; then any other suitable person. Between parents, the court considers which is more likely to allow the child frequent and continuing contact with the other. The section states that it creates neither a preference nor a presumption for or against joint or sole custody¹³.

Section 3011 lists what the court must consider, among other factors¹⁴:

1. The child’s health, safety and welfare.
2. A history of abuse by a parent or anyone seeking custody against a child, the other parent or certain household members. The court may require independent corroboration, such as law enforcement or medical records.
3. The nature and amount of contact with both parents.
4. Habitual or continual illegal drug use or abuse of alcohol or prescribed controlled substances by either parent, with the same option to require corroboration.

If abuse or substance allegations are before the court and it orders sole or joint custody or unsupervised visitation for that parent, it must state in writing or on the record that the order is in the child’s best interest and protects safety, and the order must give the time, day, place and manner of transfer¹⁴.

A child old enough to form an intelligent preference has the wishes considered and given due weight. A child 14 or older who wants to address the court must be permitted to unless the court finds it is not in the child’s best interest and says why on the record. The child is not required to give a preference, and the court generally may not hear the child in front of the parties⁹. The statute names no age other than 14, and Riverside’s FAQ says no set age decides which parent a child lives with¹⁵.

Section 3044 was repealed and re-added by Statutes 2024, chapter 544 (SB 899), and by its own terms became effective January 1, 2026⁸. In summary⁸:

• If the court finds a party seeking custody perpetrated domestic violence within the previous five years against the other party, the child or the child’s siblings, there is a rebuttable presumption that sole or joint physical or legal custody for that party is detrimental to the child. It “may only be rebutted by a preponderance of the evidence.”
• To overcome it, the court must find custody to that party is in the child’s best interest, and the preference for frequent contact with both parents may not be used to rebut it. It must also find that the listed factors, on balance, support section 3020. They include completing a batterer’s treatment program, compliance with probation, parole and protective orders, further acts of violence, and a finding that the person possessed a firearm in violation of a restraining order.
• A conviction of a qualifying crime within five years satisfies the requirement of a finding. A finding cannot rest solely on a custody evaluator’s conclusions or a Family Court Services recommendation.
• The court decides whether the section applies before it issues a custody order after an evidentiary hearing, unless it needs a continuance; if it finds the presumption overcome it states its reasons. It must give the parties a copy of the section before custody mediation.

Sources disagree The court’s self-help page says that “in most cases” the parent who was not abusive receives sole legal and physical custody, and the other parent may still visit, usually with limits or supervision¹⁶. The statute creates a rebuttable presumption, overcome only by the findings above⁸. The statute governs; the self-help page is a summary.

When custody or visitation is contested on the face of a pleading, the court shall set the contested issues for mediation (Family Code section 3170)¹. A mediator may, under local rules, submit a written recommendation; the process is then called child custody recommending counseling (section 3183)². In Riverside, if the parties do not agree, the counselor prepares a recommendation for the court³. The appointment is covered on Family Court Services and in a checklist. In outline:

The questionnaire (form RI-FL024, revised January 7, 2026) asks about each child’s school, child protective services involvement, special needs, counseling and medication¹⁸. A parent who misses the appointment must still appear at the hearing and explain, and the court may refer the parent for another appointment¹⁵.

Good to know The statute and the court’s statewide self-help page say “mediation,” but in Riverside the counselor can recommend an outcome to the judge²³¹⁹. Sessions are confidential between the counselor and the parties, but information may be shared with the judge, and suspected child abuse or neglect must be reported¹⁵.

If domestic violence is involved, the self-help page says to tell the mediator right away and that a parent can ask for separate rooms or a different time¹⁹. Riverside’s FAQ adds that a parent can tell the clerk at check-in and meet the counselor separately¹⁵.

The court’s FAQ points to the Request for Order (form FL-300) for obtaining or changing custody orders in an existing case¹¹. The court’s non-emergency packet gives these steps²⁰:

1. Complete the forms. The FL-300 states the request; the supporting facts cannot run over 10 pages without permission²¹. Schedule detail goes on the FL-311 attachment²².
2. File and pay the fee or ask for a waiver, at the clerk’s window, by drop box or mail, or through eSubmit²⁰. The self-help page gives a range of $60 to $85 for a Request for Order⁶; Riverside’s Rule 5110 says all are subject to statutory fees¹⁷.
3. Get the hearing date from the file-stamped copy. The FAQ says the clerk will probably give a court date and possibly a mediation date, and to ask the clerk if unsure¹¹.
4. Serve the other parent. With no response on file, personal service by an adult other than the filer at least 16 court days before the hearing; with a response on file, service by mail by an adult other than the filer at least 21 calendar days before²⁰.
5. File proof of service (form FL-330 or FL-335), attend the CCRC appointment if set, then the hearing; the order after hearing (form FL-340) is prepared if necessary²⁰.

A person served files a responsive declaration (form FL-320) and serves it at least nine court days before the hearing unless the court shortened the time; the form warns the court may make the orders without the person otherwise²¹.

The court’s FAQ lists a Request for Order to modify existing orders, the same request plus a request to admonish the other parent, or an Order to Show Cause and Affidavit for Contempt (form FL-410). It calls contempt “very difficult, time consuming”¹¹. The self-help page adds that a parent can give local police a copy of the order²³. A custody order made in a restraining order case survives the protective order until a court changes it (Family Code section 6340)²⁴.