The Process to Obtain a Child Custody and Visitation Order in Fresno County

You will attend at least two court hearings before you have an order.

From the time you file until the first hearing, called a Readiness Hearing, will be approximately 2 months. At the Readiness Hearing you will be given dates to attend orientation to mediation, mediation and a return to court date.

The time from the first hearing until the second hearing will be approximately 45 to 60 days, depending on the courts calendar.

• At mediation, children are no longer interviewed.
• Mediation is confidential. That means nothing that happens during the mediation session can be brought up at court.
• At the second hearing, all the judge will know is whether you agreed, disagreed or have a partial agreement. If any agreements are reached those will be typed up and made available prior to or at the hearing.

At the second hearing the judge has the option of:

• Making an order that day.
• Determining additional information is necessary and sending the matter to Tier II mediation and setting a return to court date.
• Setting the matter for a contesting hearing/trial where evidence is presented by the parties before the judge makes a decision.

In this process, the judge decides who your children will live with and when.