California Dispositional Attachment - Removal from Custodial Parent - Placement with Previously Noncustodial Parent

In California, a judge is not allowed to take into account the gender of the parent when making custody decisions. Therefore, it is possible for a father to get full custody of a child. All court decisions regarding child custody are made using the best interest of the child standard.

California law does not show preference to any one parent in a custody case. Custody decisions are to be made based on the child's best interests. That being said, mothers are historically granted custody more often than fathers, since they are often the caretakers of the children more so than the fathers.

Under California state law, both of the child's parents have the right to seek custody as well as visitation rights. In these cases, the child's mother and father are treated equally with equal rights.

Dads are not automatically entitled 50-50 custody, or any custody order for that matter. Likewise, there is nothing in the family code that automatically grants custody to fathers solely on the basis that they are the dad. The standard the court uses during a divorce is the best interest of the child.

A noncustodial parent is a parent who does not have physical custody of his or her minor child as the result of a court order. When the child only lives with one parent, in a sole custody arrangement, then the parent with which the child lives is the custodial parent while the other parent is the non-custodial parent.

In California, either parent can have custody of the children, or the parents can share custody. The judge makes the final decision about custody and visitation but usually will approve the arrangement (the parenting plan) that both parents agree on.

The determination of the custodial parent depends on where the child spends most of his or her physical custody time. Whichever parent has the child more often is considered the custodial parent, and the parent with whom the child spends less time is the noncustodial parent in joint custody situations.

When a child is born to a couple who is married, the State of California assumes the husband of the mother to be the baby's biological father.Without these Court orders an unmarried father may not be able to stop the unmarried mother of his child from taking the baby and moving away.