FL-323-INFO - Attorney for Child in a Family Law Case—Information Sheet

Summary

Attorney for Child in a Family Law Case—Information Sheet

Text

Form ID: FL-323-INFO
Title: Attorney for Child in a Family Law Case—Information Sheet
Effective Date: 2017-07-01
Mandatory Form: no
Languages: 汉语, 한국어, español, Tiếng Việt
Info Page: https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/FL-323-INFO
Primary Download URL: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl323info.pdf
Alternate Download URLs: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl323infoc.pdf, https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl323infok.pdf, https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl323infos.pdf, https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl323infov.pdf
Form Detail Page:
Attorney for Child in a Family Law Case—Information Sheet
(FL-323-INFO)
This answers general questions about lawyers appointed for a child in a family law case.  Questions include: What will the lawyer do?  Who pays the lawyer?  How long will the lawyer represent the child?
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(Chinese Simplified)
한국어
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(Korean)
español
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(Spanish)
Tiếng Việt
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(Vietnamese)
Effective: July 1, 2017
PDF Text:
Parties and their attorneys, other types of attorneys, 
the child or a relative of the child, or a child custody 
mediator, recommending counselor, or evaluator may 
ask the court to appoint minor’s counsel for the child. 
The court may also decide to appoint minor’s counsel 
without a request.
of minor’s counsel. The court must determine the 
reasonable amount for the attorney. The court must 
also decide about the ability of the parties to pay all 
or some of that amount. The court will review the 
parties’ financial information to make this decision. 
If the parties do not pay when they are required to, 
the attorney or the court could bring a case against 
them to collect the money. If the court finds that the 
parties are not able to pay all or some of the cost, the 
court must pay the part the parties can’t pay.
FL-323-INFO, Page 1 of 2
In some cases, the family court judge will appoint 
a private attorney to represent a child in a custody 
or parenting time (visitation) case. These attorneys 
are often called “minor’s counsel.”
Judicial Council of California, www.courts.ca.gov 
New J
uly 1, 2017, Optional Form
Family Code, §§ 3150–3152
Cal. Rules of Court, rules 5.240, 5.241, 5.242
FL-323-INFO Attorney for Child in a Family Law Case—Information Sheet
Attorney for Child in a Family Law Case—
Information Sheet
Who can ask that minor’s counsel be 
appointed?
The court might appoint an attorney for a child for 
many different reasons. For example, if parents 
significantly disagree about issues of parenting 
time and a child is experiencing stress, the court 
might appoint an attorney to represent the child in 
the case.
Why might the court appoint an attorney 
for a child?
Minor’s counsel will: 
• Gather and present evidence about the best
interests of the child;
• If the child wants, present the child’s wishes to
the court; and
• Inform the court if the child wants to address the
court.
Generally, minor’s counsel will also:
• Interview the child; and
• Review court files and records available to the
parties and make additional investigation.
Minor’s counsel:
• Cannot be called as a witness but can bring
witnesses for the child’s case;
• Can see a child’s mental health, medical, dental,
and other health-care records, and school and
educational records;
• Has the right to interview school personnel,
caretakers, health-care providers, mental health
professionals, and others who have assessed the
child or provided care to the child; and
• Must be served with all documents in the case
once appointed.
What will minor’s counsel do?
What will a court order for minor’s counsel 
include?
The court must make written orders when appointing 
and relieving counsel for a child.
Appointment orders must include the appointed 
counsel’s name, address, and telephone number; the 
name of the child for whom counsel is appointed; and 
the child’s date of birth. 
Orders might also include: 
• The child’s address, if appropriate;
• Issues to be addressed in the case;
• Case-related tasks that would benefit from the
services of counsel for the child;
• Responsibilities and rights of the child’s counsel;
• Counsel’s rate or amount of compensation;
• Allocation of fees payable by each party or the
court;
• Source of funds and manner of reimbursement for
costs and attorney fees;
• Allocation of payment of attorney fees to one
party subject to reimbursement by the other party;
• The terms and amount of any progress or
installment payments; and
In general, the parties pay for the attorney for their 
child, but sometimes the court will cover the cost 
Who pays for minor's counsel?

FL-323-INFO, Page 2 of 2New July 1, 2017
FL-323-INFO
Attorney for Child in a Family Law Case—Information Sheet
The attorney must file a declaration with the court
 indicating compliance with all requirements no later
 than 10 days after being appointed and before
 beginning work on the case.
Does the court have a list of attorneys who 
might be appointed?
The court may or may not maintain a list or panel of 
attorneys meeting the minimum qualifications to be
appointed. The court may also appoint attorneys not 
on a list and may take into consideration factors 
including language, culture, and the special needs of 
the child. 
How does the attorney tell the court he or 
she is qualified? 
What do I do if I have a complaint about 
minor's counsel?
Look in the court’s local rules or ask the court about 
its complaint procedures. 
When does the minor’s counsel stop 
representing the child?
Generally, the attorney keeps representing the child 
until the court decides otherwise or when the child 
turns 18 years.
Attorney for Child in a Family Law Case—Information Sheet
What kind of qualifications must attorneys 
have to be appointed?
An attorney must: 
• Be an active member in good standing of the
State Bar of California;
• Have professional liability insurance or
demonstrate to the court that he or she is
adequately self-insured;
• Have completed at least 12 hours of education
and training on specific topics (see California
Rules of Court, rule 5.242); and
• Have a certain amount of experience before being
appointed and also receive at least 8 hours of
additional training each year.
• The ability of the court to change the order on fees
and payment.

Retrieval chunks

• #1

  Form ID: FL-323-INFO Title: Attorney for Child in a Family Law Case—Information Sheet Effective Date: 2017-07-01 Mandatory Form: no Languages: 汉语, 한국어, español, Tiếng Việt Info Page: https://selfhelp.courts.ca.gov/jcc-form/FL-323-INFO Primary Download URL: https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/fl323info.pdf Alter…

• #2

  Who can ask that minor’s counsel be appointed? The court might appoint an attorney for a child for many different reasons. For example, if parents significantly disagree about issues of parenting time and a child is experiencing stress, the court might appoint an attorney to represent the child in the case. Wh…

• #3

  indicating compliance with all requirements no later than 10 days after being appointed and before beginning work on the case. Does the court have a list of attorneys who might be appointed? The court may or may not maintain a list or panel of attorneys meeting the minimum qualifications to be appointed. The co…