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California Custody

California custody is simple once you understand how the system really works.

Unfortunately what the politicians in Sacramento tell you about child custody in California isn't always true.

The system isn't nearly as fair as they'd lead you to believe.

If you look at the child custody guidelines in California, you'll see references to "primary caretaker" and "more qualified" parent.

In none of the official guidelines will you find the intangible criteria used to determine child custody in the real world.

If you and your spouse can't decide child custody yourselves, the state of California will decide where your children live.

The determination of child custody begins with the filing of a motion at your local county family law courthouse.

At some point, the county assigns a California custody evaluator to meet with all the parties involved; including the school, doctors, etc.

An evaluation is then conducted, by the county, to determine which one of you is the better parent for the kids.

This all begins with an evaluation done by an assigned custody evaluator.

Even better, you'll probably be subjected to a psychological profile and at the end of the process, the custody evaluator will write and submit their report to family court.

The evaluation report is sent you as well.

Most people believe custody is determined by the judge, when in fact custody is determined by an evaluator, not the judge.

The evaluators report is simply read by the judge who rubber stamps it, because they know very little about you, your spouse, your children, or your family setting.

The evaluator on the other hand has conducted extensive research and issues a report, so there's no way the judge is going to overrule the evaluators recommendation.

In a highly contested dispute, a judge will sometimes order a guardian ad litem to protect the children's interests during a custody evaluation.

A guardian ad litem doesn't determine custody, but will act as a advocate of the children to ensure the children's interests are protected while you and your spouse argue about custody.

The guardian ad litem can be a either a lawyer or social worker as long as they are approved by the court and there are private guardians along with public ones employed by your local California county.

Regarding fee's, private guardians charge from $50 per hour to up to $400, where public guardians generally charge less.

Typically the cost of the guardian ad litem is shared by each spouse.

If you can't afford a guardian, often one will be provided free of change.

If you want your California custody case executed properly, Matt O'Connell's divorce guide is the ultimate resource for you. Matt O'Connell is the leading expert on the Internet and has been providing divorce advice in California since 2005.

In his guide, he details the entire divorce process and common pitfalls. Even if you're using a attorney, his advice will still save you thousands and get you a better result.

Matt is the leading expert on the Internet and has been providing divorce advice since 2005.

Even if you're using a attorney, his advice will still save you thousands and get you a better result.

So Click Here to give Matt's advice a try.