Family Law

4th District Court of Appeal, Family Law, Litigation

Timothy S. v. Sarah H. — Grandparent visitation petition is not a Uniform Parentage Act proceeding, so no fee award under Family Code section 7605

automatic / November 3, 2026

The Court of Appeal affirmed the denial of a mother's request for attorney's fees against a grandfather seeking visitation, holding that Family Code section 7605 applies only to Uniform Parentage Act proceedings and that juvenile dependency exit orders are not UPA judgments.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law, Litigation

In re Marriage of A.O. and Vologodskaya — Attorney Fee Request Under Family Code Section 6344 Filed 14 Months After Stipulated Restraining Order Was Untimely

automatic / October 28, 2026

The Court of Appeal reversed a $39,000 attorney fee award under Family Code section 6344 because the fee motion was filed 14 months after a stipulated domestic violence restraining order, well beyond the deadline in California Rules of Court, rule 3.1702.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law

Arora v. Arora — Family-Code Sanctions May Include Fees From Unsuccessful Contempt Proceedings

automatic / October 22, 2026

The Fourth District affirmed. Section 1218 and Family Code section 271 address different conduct and serve different purposes. Section 1218 permits a successful contempt movant to recover fees but does not create a reciprocal award for the alleged contemner. Section 271, by contrast, is a family-law sanction designed to encourage cooperation, settlement, and proportionate litigation. Applying section 271 to conduct occurring during contempt proceedings does not convert section 1218 into a reciprocal fee statute.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law

Sterndahl v. Sterndahl — Interim Spousal-Support Ruling Was Not Appealable

automatic / October 15, 2026

The Second District dismissed an appeal from a temporary-support ruling because the trial court retained power to revise the award retroactively.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law

K.R. v. Superior Court — Later Removal Did Not Restart Reunification Clock

automatic / October 12, 2026

The Fourth District held that a later section 387 removal does not restart reunification when the children were already removed at the initial disposition.

4th District Court of Appeal, Family Law

In re J.S. — The Court of Appeal affirmed the juvenile court’s orders

automatic / October 9, 2026

This decision reinforces the deference appellate courts give to juvenile courts' detriment findings at review hearings, particularly where a parent's partial compliance and ongoing behavioral concerns—such as missed drug tests and minimization of past abuse—support continued reunification services.

1st District Court of Appeal, Estate Planning, Probate and Tax Law, Family Law

Seiwald v. Irias — Marvin Agreement Can Create Ownership in Premarital Public Pension Benefits

automatic / September 28, 2026

A Marvin agreement can give an unmarried partner an ownership share in public pension benefits earned during cohabitation despite statutory anti-assignment protection.

4th District Court of Appeal, Family Law

F.L. v. Superior Court — Failed reunification with siblings can support bypass for a newborn

automatic / September 21, 2026

A juvenile court may bypass reunification services for a newborn based on a parent's failed reunification with siblings as of the new child's disposition hearing.

1st District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Family Law

Irvine v. Irvine — A pending criminal case did not automatically require delaying a domestic-violence restraining-order hearing

automatic / September 18, 2026

A DVRO respondent facing related criminal charges is not automatically entitled to a continuance; courts must balance self-incrimination concerns against safety, delay, and statutory objectives.

4th District Court of Appeal, Family Law

Marriage of Jessica L. and Sammer Z. — Domestic-violence custody presumption must be independently applied

automatic / September 8, 2026

A California Court of Appeal held that a family court must independently apply the domestic-violence custody presumption rather than treat its rebuttal in another family case as binding.

1st District Court of Appeal, Family Law, Litigation

Marriage of Trousset and Kelley — Family Court Must Make Express Need-Based Fee Findings

automatic / September 4, 2026

A family court must expressly compare access to litigation funds and ability to pay before denying need-based fees under Family Code section 2030.

4th District Court of Appeal, Family Law

In re A.H. — Intervening tribe is presumptively entitled to a guardian’s court-ordered psychological evaluation

automatic / August 31, 2026

An intervening tribe has presumptive statutory access to a guardian’s court-ordered psychological evaluation in an Indian child’s dependency case.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Family Law

Marriage of Traweek — Domestic-violence conviction did not automatically bar spousal support

automatic / August 28, 2026

A domestic-violence conviction creates a rebuttable presumption, not an absolute bar, when a California court decides spousal support.

4th District Court of Appeal, Family Law, Healthcare Law

Marriage of R.M. and P.N. — Parent’s IHSS Caregiver Pay Counts as Support Income

automatic / August 21, 2026

A California Court of Appeal held that IHSS caregiver pay received by a parent counts as gross income when the child’s need established eligibility for the services.

3rd District Court of Appeal, Family Law

In re W.A. — ICWA Inquiry Extends to Adoptive and Biological Relatives

automatic / August 19, 2026

The Third District vacated an ICWA finding because the agency failed to ask available adoptive and biological relatives about possible tribal connections.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law

In re P.C. — Juvenile Courts May Reject Pro Se Filings From Represented Parents

automatic / August 18, 2026

The Fourth District held that juvenile courts generally may reject substantive pro se filings from represented parties and upheld denial of a mother's section 388 petition.

California Supreme Court, Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law, Family Law

Family Violence Appellate Project v. Superior Court — Indigent litigants must receive a verbatim record in every case

automatic / August 10, 2026

When no court reporter is available, California trial courts must electronically record proceedings so indigent litigants can obtain an official verbatim record in every type of case.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Family Law

In re Miguel J. — Domestic Violence Can Support Dependency Jurisdiction Even When the Child Is Struck Accidentally

automatic / August 3, 2026

Intentional domestic violence in a child’s presence can support dependency jurisdiction even if contact with the child was accidental.

4th District Court of Appeal, Administrative Law, Family Law

In re Violet S. — Eligible nonminor dependent keeps extended foster-care jurisdiction

automatic / July 30, 2026

A juvenile court could not terminate jurisdiction over an eligible nonminor dependent merely because another agency also provided lifelong services.

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Criminal Law, Family Law

United States v. Lopez — California domestic-violence convictions are not categorical crimes of violence

automatic / July 28, 2026

The Ninth Circuit held that Penal Code section 273.5 does not categorically require the mental state needed for a federal crime-of-violence enhancement.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Family Law

In re X.A. — Extensive ICWA Follow-Up Supported Termination of Parental Rights

automatic / July 27, 2026

A documented, extensive inquiry of maternal relatives satisfied California's ICWA duties despite inconsistent ancestry claims and limited family cooperation.

4th District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law

Marriage of G.E. & I.D. — Family courts cannot dismiss DVRO petitions merely to manage crowded calendars

automatic / July 20, 2026

A family court abused its discretion by dismissing a DVRO petition for calendar-management reasons and ending temporary protection without notice.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Estate Planning, Probate and Tax Law, Family Law, Probate

Jackson v. Meyer — Trust Revocation During Divorce Proceedings Valid Despite Failure to File With Court

automatic / July 14, 2026

California's Second District Court of Appeal held that a spouse's trust revocation during pending divorce proceedings is valid even though it was never filed with the court, as long as the other spouse received actual notice of the revocation as required by the trust instrument.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Civil Procedure, Family Law, Litigation

Marriage of Martinez & Camou — Divorce Litigants Must Promptly Invoke Same-Judge Rights When Agreeing to Bifurcation

automatic / July 9, 2026

A California Court of Appeal ruling holds that parties who stipulate to bifurcation in a dissolution case must promptly raise any same-judge objection or face Family Code section 271 sanctions — waiting eight months while attending multiple trial setting conferences is not timely.

2nd District Court of Appeal, Family Law

In re Landon M. — Appeal Dismissed as Moot; Court Clarifies That Allowing Armed Father Access Does Not Constitute Reportable ‘Severe Neglect’ Under CACI

automatic / July 2, 2026

The Second District dismisses a mother's dependency appeal as moot after the juvenile court terminated jurisdiction and granted her sole custody, holding that allowing a father with known guns access to children constitutes 'general neglect' — not the 'severe neglect' that would trigger a reportable CACI listing.