2014 Family Law Legislation
| Publication year | 2015 |
The continuing collaboration between Continuing Education of the Bar (CEB) and the Family Law Section continues to reap benefits for our members. The Family Law News is pleased once again to publish the CEB Year in Review. Each year, CEB publishes a detailed compilation of important case law and legislative developments on issues ranging from attorneys fees to child custody to enforcement.
Reprinted below for your review and easy reference are the summaries of 2014 legislation in the Family Law arena. Due to space constraints, the Family Law News is unable to publish the list of new cases in this issue. The next issue of the Family Law News will include the CEB case summaries. In the meantime, please continue to take advantage of Judge Burke's case summaries that come through on a regular basis to keep fresh on legal developments coming from the courts. Thanks again to CEB for supporting the education of the Family Law Section.
Legislation. During the past year, significant legislation was enacted that affects family law in California. Unless otherwise noted, the legislation is operative January 1, 2015. Some of the more important legislative developments include the following:
AB 2154 (Stats 2014, ch 95)
Legislation provides that the perfecting of an appeal will not stay enforcement of a family law judgment for attorney fees or costs, unless an undertaking is given as prescribed by a court. The legislation adds CCP §917.75 and is operative January 1, 2015.
Preexisting law provides that unless an undertaking is given, perfecting an appeal does not stay the enforcement of a judgment or order for money or the payment of money, or for costs awarded under specified provisions.
Assembly Bill 2154 now clarifies that perfecting an appeal will also not stay the enforcement of a judgment or order for attorney fees or costs (or both) that has been awarded in a family law proceeding unless an undertaking is given. CCP §917.75.
Reference: Practice Under the California Family Code: Dissolution, Legal Separation, Nullity, chap 9 (Cal CEB).
AB 1843 (Stats 2014, ch 283)
Legislation authorizes disclosure of confidential information from a child custody evaluation to the licensing board of the custody evaluator if there is an investigation of the evaluator. The legislation makes related conforming statutory changes and deletes an obsolete reference to a "statement of issues and contentions." The bill amends Bus & P C §129 and Fam C §§3025.5 and 3111, and is operative January 1, 2015.
Preexisting law provides for formal child custody evaluations in contested custody or visitation cases if an evaluation is in a child's best interests. Evaluations are performed by licensed evaluators who must meet specified statutory criteria for appointment by the court. See generally Fam C §§3110—3117. Preexisting law also provides that written reports prepared by custody evaluators are confidential and may be released only to those persons or entities set forth by statute. See Fam C §§3025.5, 3111.
Under AB 1843, a confidential evaluation report now may be released to "the licensing entity of a child custody evaluator," but "shall only be used for purposes of investigating allegations of unprofessional conduct by the child custody evaluator, or in a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding involving the child custody evaluator." Fam C §3025.5(a)(2), (b). Confidential information in any such proceeding must be sealed at the end of the proceeding and not later released, and if no court or administrative proceeding takes place, the confidential information must be sealed after the licensing agency decides that no further action will be taken regarding the suspected licensing violation. Fam C §3025.5(b). The bill also deletes a reference to a "written statement of issues and contentions under [a prior version] of Fam C §3151(b)" that had been in Fam C §3025.5.
In addition, AB 1843 makes conforming changes to Fam C §3111(b), concerning to whom the evaluation report may be released, and Bus & P C §129, concerning the licensing board complaint procedure——which now requires the board to notify "the noncomplaining party" of a pending investigation of an evaluator——on receipt of a child custody evaluation report.
Reference: For a general discussion of child custody and visitation, see Practice Under the California Family Code: Dissolution, Legal Separation, Nullity, chap 7 (Cal CEB).
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Grandparent VisitationAB 1628 (Stats 2014, ch 328)
Legislation amends Fam C §3104 to add as a basis for a grandparent's petition for visitation with a grandchild (while the child's parents remain married) that one of the parents is incarcerated or involuntarily institutionalized. The legislation is operative January 1, 2015.
Under preexisting law, assuming that a court makes the findings required by Fam C §3104(a) regarding the bond between a grandparent and his or her grandchild, and balances the child's interest in having visitation with the grandparent against the parents' right to exercise their authority over the child, at least one of five circumstances listed by statute must exist to permit a grandparent to petition a...
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