Legal Information: California

Custody

View all
Updated: 
June 16, 2021

What happens if a parent cannot attend a hearing due to military duty?

If a person’s deployment, mobilization, or temporary duty will affect his/her ability to be at a regularly scheduled hearing in person, the judge will do either of the following depending on what the parent asks for:

  • Move up the hearing to determine custody and visitation issues before s/he has to leave; or
  • Allow the parent to present testimony and evidence and participate in court-ordered child custody mediation by telephone, video teleconferencing, or the Internet (for example), if these are reasonably available to the judge and the process is fair to all parties.1

1 Ann.Cal.Fam.Code § 3047(c)

Legal Information

WomensLaw serves and supports all survivors, no matter their sex or gender.

© 2008–2021 WomensLaw.org is a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Inc. All rights reserved. This website is funded in part through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). NNEDV is a 501©(3) non-profit organization; EIN 52-1973408.