Can You Lose Custody for Not Co-Parenting in California?

Whether you are in the process of a child custody determination case or living with a court order, the idea of losing custody of your children can be terrifying. There are several reasons why parents may lose custody during a court case and even after the order has been finalized. A parent may wonder, can you lose custody for not co-parenting in California? The answer is that this is just one possible reason for a parent to lose custody.

When parents learn that failure to co-parent is potentially a reason to lose custody, this can be stressful. Be aware that this doesn’t refer to a simple disagreement with your co-parent. However, if you and your co-parent are unable to properly care for your child and their interests because of an inability to co-parent, the court may remove custodial rights. A Child Custody Attorney in Orange County, CA, can help you understand your rights and how the state court determines a child’s interests.

Failing to Co-Parent in California

The state court assigns custody based on a child’s interests, and it assumes that frequent and substantial time with each parent is in the child’s interests unless there is proof to the contrary. Failing to adequately co-parent may or may not be enough reason to lose custody. This depends on the unique situation and how severely this inability to co-parent is impacting your child.

Simply disagreeing with your co-parent does not constitute removal of parental rights and custody. When actions include parental alienation or are similarly severe, this may be a reason to remove custody rights. Actions that show a severe failure of co-parenting to the detriment of a child may include:

• A parent trying to harm their child’s relationship with the other parent
• A parent keeping important school or health information from the other parent
• A parent ignoring a court-ordered parenting plan
• A parent has directly abused or neglected their child in some way. The family court takes this very seriously, and a parent is likely to face severe penalties, including potential loss of custody rights, if they have engaged in such behavior.

If these actions harm a child’s welfare, health, or safety, it would be serious enough for a family court to limit or remove custody rights, perhaps permanently. How a court handles a failure to co-parent depends on your unique circumstances and if there are alternate ways to allow parents to care for their child, such as parallel parenting. Co-parenting is not the right option for every family.

Order Enforcement

If a co-parent is failing to follow a parenting plan and properly co-parent, a parent can request order enforcement from a law enforcement officer or the court. Prior to a finalized court order, a parent’s failure to follow a temporary parenting plan, or refusal to cooperate with the other parent, may be reason to alter their custody in the final parenting plan. Once a court order is in place, there are steps that parents can take to enforce a violated court order. This includes:

• Providing a law enforcement officer with a copy of the parenting plan and requesting enforcement
• Filing for contempt of court if the co-parent has purposefully violated the court order
• Contacting your county’s district attorney if you believe that your co-parent has abducted your child
• Requesting an order modification with the court

If you are filing for contempt of court or modification, it’s essential to have a documented list of the other parent’s violations of the court order. The actions you take should reflect the severity, intention, and frequency of the violation. An attorney can help outline your options and what would be most effective for your situation.

When updating or modifying a court order, parents can either agree on a change and submit it to the court, or one parent can begin a petition to modify the order. Even if parents agree on a modification to custody, the judge must also approve the change. If the change is not in a child’s interests, the judge will not approve it. If one parent is filing to modify the order, they must prove a substantial change in circumstances that warrants the modification. If your co-parent is failing to follow the court-ordered parenting plan, the current custody order is no longer in a child’s interests.

Involuntary Termination of Parental Rights in California

A parent’s failure or refusal to co-parent in California can sometimes lead to modification of a custody order, but in extreme cases, a parent can face involuntary termination of their parental rights. The court generally reserves this option for cases in which a parent has proven themselves to be unfit or if they present a clear danger to their child’s safety and well-being. A parent may also have their parental rights involuntarily terminated as a result of a criminal conviction.

When a parent has their parental rights involuntarily terminated, it is all but impossible to reverse. In very rare cases in which parents demonstrate extensive rehabilitation, it may be possible for them to petition for supervised visitation or other limited and supervised contact with their child, but this is never guaranteed. It is also possible for a parent to have their parental rights terminated and be subject to a protective order that prohibits contact with the child.

It is important to remember that if a parent has their parental rights involuntarily terminated, it will not terminate their child support obligation. A parent will likely face a continued child support obligation until certain conditions are met, such as the child being legally adopted by a stepparent who is willing to assume financial responsibility for the child. Failure to meet child support obligations in California can lead to severe penalties.

Parents who have had their parental rights involuntarily terminated can also face additional consequences in the future. For example, if they were to have another child with a new partner, the fact that previous parental rights were involuntarily terminated is likely to be used against them when determining custody of the new child. Ultimately, involuntary termination of parental rights can impact the parent’s life in many serious ways.

FAQs

How Long Does a Father Have to Be Absent to Lose His Rights in California?

In California, if a parent has had no contact with their child for a period of at least six months, and has not exercised any parental rights during this time or attempted to contact the child, this is considered parental abandonment. Parental abandonment may be the reason for the court to involuntarily terminate a parent’s parental rights. This includes a parent’s right to make legal decisions for their child and their right to custody or visitation. In most cases, the involuntary termination of parental rights does not remove a parent’s ongoing responsibility to provide child support payments.

Is California a 50-50 Custody State?

California is not explicitly a 50-50 custody state, but it does prefer joint physical and legal custody if possible. This is because state courts believe that it is in a child’s interests to spend continued and significant time with both their parents. This is the court’s assumption in any custody determination unless an involved party proves this assumption incorrect.

Although the court prefers joint custody arrangements, a perfect 50-50 split is often unrealistic. Joint custody arrangements require a lot of cooperation from both parents and the ability to work together in their child’s interests. It is common for parents to share legal custody, meaning they must consult one another about major decisions for their child, but they may have an uneven split of physical custody due to their respective work schedules and availability.

What Deems a Parent Unfit in California?

An unfit parent in California is a legal term that refers to a parent who cannot provide the essential care, support, safety, and guidance that their child requires. A parent may be deemed unfit because of proof of child abuse, child neglect, domestic violence, or an otherwise unsafe living environment. A parent may also be deemed legally unfit if behaviors such as severe mental illness, continued substance abuse, incarceration, or other factors prevent the parent from caring for a child’s basic needs.

What Affects Child Custody in California?

If parents can create a parenting plan together, the courts will often approve it unless it is counter to the child’s interests. If parents can’t reach an agreement, the court determines custody, and a parenting plan based on the child’s interests. This is determined based on:

• A child’s age, health, and welfare
• The relationship a child has with each parent
• Each parent’s capability to provide care for a child
• A child’s connection to their school and community
• If either parent is considered unfit

It is possible for child custody to be arranged in various ways, and the court will decide both legal custody and physical custody. Legal custody is the right to make important decisions for a child, while physical custody pertains to the child’s residence. The family court generally seeks terms that minimally disrupt the child’s life while providing them with as close to equal access to both parents as possible.

Contact Quinn & Dworakowski, LLP

At Quinn & Dworakowski, LLP, we understand the delicate and stressful nature of child custody cases. While it is common for divorced or separated parents to disagree on parenting, it is important to recognize when such disagreements directly impact the safety and welfare of a child and what you can do to protect your children. Contact our team today to see how we can represent your interests in a custody or modification case.