California Family Code Section 3011 sets out the factors a judge must weigh before issuing any custody or visitation order. The statute requires the court to consider the child’s health, safety, and welfare; any history of abuse by a parent or other person seeking custody; the nature and amount of contact the child has with each parent; and any habitual or continual illegal drug use or alcohol abuse by either parent.1California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3011 These factors are mandatory, not optional, and the court can look at any additional relevant factor on top of them.
Section 3011 operates alongside Section 3020, which declares the child’s health, safety, and welfare to be the court’s primary concern in every custody and visitation decision. California policy favors frequent and continuing contact with both parents after a separation, but that preference yields whenever it conflicts with the child’s safety.2California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3020
Health, Safety, and Welfare of the Child
The first factor is broad on purpose. It covers physical safety in each home, access to medical and dental care, emotional stability, and continuity in school and community. A parent who can show a safe home, consistent routines, and attentiveness to the child’s needs is on solid ground here.
The factor bites hardest when one home raises real safety concerns: dangerous conditions, inadequate supervision, or exposure to ongoing conflict. The court is not grading parents against a perfect household. It is asking whether the environment is actively harming the child or likely to.
History of Abuse
Section 3011 requires the court to examine any history of abuse by a parent or anyone else seeking custody. The potential victim is defined broadly: the child, the other parent, or a current spouse, cohabitant, or dating partner of the person seeking custody.1California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3011 A pattern of violence toward anyone close to the parent is fair game, not just violence directed at the child.
Two separate legal definitions apply depending on the victim. Abuse against a child means child abuse and neglect as defined in Penal Code Section 11165.6. Abuse against an adult means abuse as defined in Family Code Section 6203, which covers physical harm, sexual assault, and threats of serious bodily injury.1California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3011
Before weighing abuse allegations, the court may require independent corroboration. That can include reports from law enforcement, child protective services, medical facilities, courts, or organizations serving domestic violence or sexual assault survivors. “May require” is not “must require.” A judge keeps discretion to credit testimony that lacks a paper trail.
The Section 3044 Domestic Violence Presumption
When the court finds that a parent committed domestic violence within the previous five years, Section 3044 creates a rebuttable presumption that giving that parent sole or joint custody, physical or legal, would be detrimental to the child.3California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3044 In most of these cases, the non-abusive parent receives sole custody.4California Courts. Domestic Violence and Child Custody
Overcoming the presumption is possible but difficult. The parent must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that custody with them serves the child’s best interest, and the court must find that several additional factors support that conclusion:
- Successful completion of a batterer’s treatment program meeting the criteria in Penal Code Section 1203.097.
- Completion of drug or alcohol counseling, if the court deems it appropriate.
- Completion of a parenting class, if ordered.
- Compliance with all terms of probation or parole, if the parent is on supervised release.
- Compliance with the conditions of any protective or restraining order in place.
- No further acts of domestic violence.
- No firearm or ammunition possession in violation of a restraining order.
The court cannot use California’s general policy favoring contact with both parents to justify overcoming this presumption. That friendly-parent preference is off the table once domestic violence has been found.3California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3044
False Allegations
The system also addresses the other side. Under Family Code Section 3027.1, a parent who knowingly makes a false accusation of child abuse during a custody proceeding can face monetary sanctions covering the accused parent’s defense costs plus attorney’s fees. Sanctions reach not only parties but witnesses and attorneys who made the false report. A court can also treat the fabrication as evidence of poor judgment and adjust custody accordingly.
Nature and Amount of Contact with Each Parent
The third factor requires the court to evaluate the nature and amount of contact between the child and each parent.1California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3011 This factor reflects the policy that children benefit from meaningful relationships with both parents after a separation. When deciding between parents, the court considers which parent is more likely to support the child’s ongoing relationship with the other.5Justia Law. California Family Code FAM 3040-3049
A parent who has been actively involved in the child’s daily life, who facilitates visits with the other parent without interference, and who avoids disparaging the other parent generally does well on this factor. A parent who withholds the child, blocks phone calls, or works to undermine the other parent’s relationship is working against their own case. Judges notice.
Habitual Substance Abuse
The fourth factor targets habitual or continual illegal drug use, alcohol abuse, or misuse of prescription medications by either parent.1California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3011 The word “habitual” matters. A single past incident resolved years ago is not the same as a recurring pattern that impairs a parent’s ability to care for a child safely. The court focuses on current and recent behavior.
As with abuse allegations, the court may require independent corroboration before giving substance abuse claims weight. Acceptable sources include law enforcement, probation departments, rehabilitation facilities, medical providers, and nonprofit organizations providing drug and alcohol services.1California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3011 If the court finds a substance abuse problem, the practical consequences can be severe: supervised visitation, mandatory drug testing, or required participation in treatment before any unsupervised time with the child.
Written Findings When Allegations Have Been Raised
Section 3011 includes a safeguard many parents overlook. When abuse or substance abuse allegations have been raised against a parent in the current case, and the court still grants that parent sole or joint custody or unsupervised visitation, the judge must state the reasons on the record or in writing. The explanation must address why the order serves the child’s best interest and how it protects the safety of all parties.1California Legislative Information. California Family Code FAM 3011
The order must also be specific about logistics: the time, day, place, and manner of transferring the child between parents. Vague orders that leave the details for the parents to work out are not permitted when abuse or substance abuse allegations are part of the case. The specificity is there to reduce opportunities for conflict during handoffs.4California Courts. Domestic Violence and Child Custody
Where the Child’s Preference Fits In
The child’s custody preference is not one of the enumerated factors in Section 3011. It lives in Family Code Section 3042. If a child is mature enough to form a reasoned preference about custody or visitation, the judge must consider that preference and give it appropriate weight. There is no fixed age cutoff, but the statute draws a bright line at 14: a child who is 14 or older must be permitted to address the court about custody or visitation unless the judge specifically finds that doing so would not be in the child’s best interest, and states the reasons for that finding on the record.6California Courts. California Family Code FAM 3042 A child younger than 14 may address the court if the judge finds it appropriate.
A child’s preference is one input among many. A 15-year-old who prefers the parent with fewer rules will not move the court the way a teenager describing genuine fear or neglect would. The judge always retains discretion to reach a different conclusion.