vania-janet/multiturn-rag-retrieval-data huggingface dataset:
Adoption | Superior Court of California | County of Tuolumne
Adopt-230 Adoption Expenses

How do I get ready for the hearing?

Get to court 20 minutes early and let the clerk or bailiff know you are there. Bring the child with you.
Your hearing will be private in the courtroom or the judge's chambers. You and the judge will sign the Adoption Agreement. You will sign the Adoption Expense form and the judge will then sign the Order of Adoption.

What do I do after the hearing?

You will receive certified copies of your Order for Adoption at the conclusion of your hearing. Send a copy of each form to the social worker who did your home study and keep the extra copies for your records.

Stepparent Adoption FAQs

If you are a stepparent and you want to adopt the child of your spouse or domestic partner, you may be able to do so through the stepparent adoption process.

A person who adopts a child has all of the legal rights and responsibilities of a natural parent, and that new parent-child relationship is permanent.
If you want to adopt a stepchild who is 18 or over, you can do so through the adult adoption process. If you are looking to confirm parentage, see stepparent adoption to confirm parentage.

Click on the topics or frequently asked questions below for more information.

How do I file for a Stepparent Adoption?

Fill out an Information Sheet and Questionnaire. You can get this form from the probate clerk's office, or click HERE for adoption forms: You must file your documents in the probate clerk’s office located in the Historic Courthouse on the second floor.

Get Consent

Get consent from the biological parent who is giving up custody of the child.
If the other parent doesn’t want to sign a consent form, file a petition to end their parental rights. If that parent is the mother or a presumed father, file an abandonment petition freeing the child from parental custody and control. If the other parent is an alleged father, file a termination petition terminating the parental rights of alleged father.

Home Visit and Investigation

The Court Investigator will contact you to schedule a home visit.
Enforce a custody order | California Courts | Self Help Guide
The U.S. State Department has a lot of resources and tips
The Office of Children's Issues at the U.S. State Department can provide you with information and direct you to resources that can help return your child to the United States. Contact the Officer of Children's Issues for more information

 

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Civil Filing Instructions/Procedures: Sacramento Superior Court

Pursuant to 
	 California Rules of Court, rule 3.221 - external link, in all general civil cases, the
	 plaintiff must serve a copy of the 
	 Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) information package on each defendant together
	 with the complaint. A 
	 Stipulation and Order to Mediation - Unlimited Civil (CV-E-179) must be served in addition
	 to the ADR package on any Unlimited Civil Case.
	 
	 Pursuant to 
	 Local Rule, 2.46(C), a copy of the 
	 Program Case Notice for Unlimited (CV\E-143U) shall be served
	 with the summons and complaint on any Unlimited Civil Cases.

	 Additional information that is helpful after initiating a case:


	 Tentative Ruling Information (CV\E-190)

	 Civil Tentative Rulings

Petition to Change a Name/Gender

 	 If you are restoring your name after dissolution of marriage, please refer to 
 	 
 	 Restoring Your Former Name for filing instructions.
Petition for Change of Name:

 To petition the court to change a name of an adult for reasons other than dissolution of marriage or to
 change the name of a minor, please download the 
 Petition for Change of Name Packet (CV/E-142-N).
 	
Petition for Change of Name to Conform to Gender Identity:

 To petition the court to change the name of an adult or minor to conform to gender identity, please
 download the 
 Petition for Change of Name to Conform to Gender Identity (CV/E-142-NGC).
 
Petition for Change of Name with Recognition of Gender Change and Issuance of New Birth Certificate:

ADULT: To petition the court to change an adult's name with recognition of gender change
 	and issuance of new birth certificate, please download the 
 	Petition for Recognition of Change of Gender and Sex Identifiers, Change of name, and Issuance of New Certificates (CV/E-142-NGA)
 	.

MINOR: To petition the court to change a minor's name with recognition of gender changes
 	and issuance of new birth certificate, please download the 
 	Petition for Recognition of Minor's Change of Gender and Issuance of New Birth Certificate (and Change of Name) (CV/E-142-NGM)
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Parentage Index | California Courts | Self Help Guide
Parentage Index | California Courts | Self Help Guide

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Parentage Index
Find a specific page or step by step instructions within our parentage case section.

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Parentage basics

Case Introduction
Parentage in California
The process to establish parentage (overview)
 

Information Resources

Voluntary Declaration of Parentage (VDOP)
How to cancel a Voluntary Declaration of Parentage
Ask the Local Child Support Agency (LCSA) to establish parentage

See related case types and topics:
Child custody and parenting time basics
Child support basics
Petition for Custody and Support
Get a fee waiver

Start a case: instructions for the petitioner
Start a parentage case
Start a parentage case
File your parentage Petition and Summons
Serve court papers
Serve your parentage papers
Substituted service
Service rules for special situations 
Notice if the other parent is deceased
Serve by posting
Service by mail with acknowledgment and receipt 
Look for someone you have to serve
Adoption | Superior Court of California | County of Tuolumne
Get consent from the biological parent who is giving up custody of the child.
If the other parent doesn’t want to sign a consent form, file a petition to end their parental rights. If that parent is the mother or a presumed father, file an abandonment petition freeing the child from parental custody and control. If the other parent is an alleged father, file a termination petition terminating the parental rights of alleged father.

Home Visit and Investigation

The Court Investigator will contact you to schedule a home visit. Thee child will be interviewed as well, so be sure to explain to the child that you are trying to adopt him/her.

Before the Hearing

When you get your file-stamped copy of the Stepparent Adoption report, file your Request for Hearing to get a court hearing.
If the other parent did not give up his/her rights, or if the court has not ended his/her rights, you must file a Petition to Terminate Parental Rights first before you schedule your adoption hearing.
If you can’t locate the other parent and he is a presumed father, you must publish the notice in an adjudicated newspaper. Click here for further information.

The Hearing

The stepparent, the custodial parent and the child must go to the adoption hearing. Get to court 20 minutes early and let the clerk or bailiff know you are there.
If you didn’t already file these forms, bring the originals and two copies of your forms to your hearing:
Order of Adoption (Adopt-215)
Adoption Agreement (Adopt-210)

Other Frequently Asked Questions

Click on the topics or frequently asked questions below for more information.

My child has been living with someone else for over one year, and now they want to adopt my child.

If you do not want your child to be adopted and you have not had contact with your child for over a year, you must contest the adoption.
You must file a written objection to inform the prospective adoptive parents, their lawyer, and the court that you do not agree with the adoption.
An investigator may contact you to see if you will sign a consent form, or the adoptive parents may try to end your parental rights.

Can I visit my child after the adoption?
Divorce Index | California Courts | Self Help Guide
Spousal support
Request for order

Other processes

Summary Dissolution

Find out if you qualify for a summary dissolution 
Overview: Summary Dissolution in California 
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Summary dissolution: end domestic partnership 

Legal separation and annulment

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Annulment: Legal reasons
Annulment: Start 

Phase 1: Start A Divorce

Petitioner

Start a divorce (timeline and overview) 

Fill out forms 

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Serve papers 

Resource: How to finish your divorce if your spouse didn’t respond

 

 
Alternative Service methods

Service rules for special situations 
Look for someone you have to serve

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Short video about how to serve 

Respondent

Respond to a divorce petition (“What do these papers mean”) 
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Resource: Default with agreement 
Resource: Default divorce 

Phase 2: Financial Disclosures (both parties)
Overview: Share your financial information
Gather and share financial information 
File proof you shared financial information 
 
Phase 3: Make Decisions (both parties)
Overview: Make decisions 
Inform yourself about rules and your rights 
Info: Common challenges when splitting debt 
Decide if you have the information you need 
Propose and negotiate divorce agreements 
Write out the agreement 
More Complicated Possibilities

Discovery

Discovery in divorce (Overview) 
Family law discovery 
Form interrogatories 
Serve form interrogatories by mail 
Respond to form interrogatories 
Serve your response to form interrogatories 

Going to trial

Overview of a divorce trial 
Complete these steps before a divorce trial 
Prepare for a divorce trial 
Present your case at a divorce trial 
Resource: Example trial issue: spousal support 
Resource: Example trial issue: date of separation 

Phase 4: Finalize your divorce 
Finalize your divorce (Overview) 

Defaults (with or without agreement)

Finish your divorce in a default
Self-Help Glossary - selfhelp
obligee: The person, state agency, or institution owed a debt (usually money) like child support (also called "custodial party" if the money is owed to the person with primary custody of a child).
obligor: The person that must pay child support or perform some other financial obligation.
offense: An act that violates (breaks) the law. (See also crime, public offense.)
Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE): The federal agency responsible for administering the nationwide child support program.
offset: Amount of money taken from a parent's state or federal income tax refund before he or she receives it, or from an administrative payment like federal retirement benefits, to pay a child support debt.
opinion: A judge's written explanation of the decision of the court in appellate cases. Because a case may be heard by 3 or more judges in the appellate court, the opinion in appellate decisions can take several forms. If all the judges completely agree on the result, 1 judge will write the opinion for all. If all the judges do not agree, the formal decision will be based on the majority view, and 1 member of the majority will write the opinion. The judges that do not agree with the majority may write their own dissenting or concurring opinions to state their views. A dissenting opinion disagrees with the majority opinion because of the reasoning and/or the principles of law the majority used to decide the case. A concurring opinion agrees with the decision of the majority opinion, but offers comment or clarification or a completely different reason for reaching the same result. Only the majority opinion can be used as binding precedent in future cases. (See also precedent.)
oral argument: The part of a trial when lawyers summarize their position in court and also answer the judge's questions.
order: (1) Decision of a judicial officer ; (2) a directive of the court, on a matter relating to the main proceedings, that decides a preliminary point or directs some steps in the proceedings. Generally used to invalidate a prior conviction, for example, an order issued after a hearing where a prior conviction is found invalid because certain legal standards weren't met during the time of trial and conviction.
Adoptions | California Courts | Self Help Guide
Adoptions | California Courts | Self Help Guide

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Guide to adoptions in California
This guide has general information about the different ways to adopt someone in California. For some types of adoption, there are step-by-step instructions on how to complete the adoption process.
 

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Adoptions
In an adoption, the court establishes a legal parent-child relationship between a child and a parent who is not the child's biological or birth parent
Once the adoption is final, adoptive parents have all the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent-child relationship. That new parent-child relationship is permanent and is exactly the same as that of a birth family.
An adoptive parent can be a stepparent or domestic partner of one of the birth parents, a relative of the child who has been caring for the child, or someone not related to the child by blood.
If the child is 12 years old or older, the child will also have to agree to the adoption.
Adoptions filed in California are confidential
Adoption files are confidential.
The small claims process | California Courts | Self Help Guide


The small claims process | California Courts | Self Help Guide

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The small claims process

The small claims process

The small claims process is an easier way to take someone to court. It’s for when you think the other side owes you less than $12,500 (or $6,250 if you’re suing as a business). 
 
Select any step to see instructions and get forms

1. Before you start
        See if small claims is right for your situation.
      

2. Start a small claims case
        Get forms and instructions to start a case, file papers, and serve the other side.
      

3. Go to your court date
        The judge listens to both sides, looks at evidence, and decides who wins or loses the case.
      

4. After the trial
        Find out how to collect money or your options if you owe money.
      

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CALIFORNIA COURTS | SELF HELP GUIDE

 

 

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Petition and Summons (forms FL-200 and FL-210) | California Courts | Self Help Guide
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What these forms tell you

Who is asking
 The person who filed the case is the Petitioner. This is usually the person who gave birth to the child, or someone who wants a court order stating whether or not they are the child's legal parent.
The Petitioner could also be the child or someone who represents the child.

What the other person wants the court to decide
 On page 2 of the Petition, the person who filed it (often the child's parent) will have checked boxes to say what they want the court to decide. 

Legal parent child relationship
Item 7 states whether they want the court to determine if you or they (or both) are the child's legal parent and if they want genetic testing

Child custody and visitation (parenting time)
Item 8, and any attachments, state what custody and visitation (parenting time) orders they want the court to make

Child support
Item 12 explains that the court can make child support orders at anytime. 

The Petitioner can ask for other things, like to change a child's name or money to cover pregnancy costs. They can also ask for money to cover the costs of an attorney.
You can respond and say how you want the issues decided. If you don’t respond, they can ask the court to decide without your input.

How to respond and what happens if you don't
 The Summons (FL-210) explains what you can do.
You can respond by filing a Response (form FL-220) in court. 
If you don't file a Response within 30 days of getting these papers, the Petitioner can ask the court to decide the case without your input. This is called a default.
The court could decide who the child's legal parent is and make child custody, visitation (parenting time), and child support orders without your input. 
If you agree with what the petitioner has asked for, you may choose not to respond and the case will continue the case without you.
 
If you think there's a problem with the case, you may have additional options. Learn more
Family Law - Petition to Terminate Parental Rights: Sacramento Superior Court

stepparent adoption to take place.

 

 	If the other parent does not consent or the whereabouts are unknown to consent for the purposes of adoption, then you will have to file a 
 petition to terminate his or her parental rights, and in most cases, a citation to obtain a hearing date.

 

Forms and Filing
There is no court form available to terminate parental rights. You will need to draft the required pleading either on your own or with the assistance of a private attorney. Generally, Family Code section 7820 covers termination of parental rights.
Your pleading should clearly request termination of parental rights based on one or more of the below, which ever and however many may apply, including reasons for such request:


 	Family Code section 7822 - external link – Abandonment


 	Family Code section 7823 - external link – Neglect or cruelty


	 	Family Code section 7824 - external link – Parents suffering from disability due to alcohol, or controlled substances, or moral depravity


 	Family Code section 7825 - external link – Parent convicted of felony, consideration of criminal record prior to felony conviction


 	Family Code section 7826 - external link – Parent declared developmentally disabled or mentally ill


 	Family Code section 7827 - external link – Mentally disabled parent

You will also need to complete the Investigation Questionnaire Form (FL/E-LP-647) and provide the appropriate documents accompanying your termination request.
Once you complete your petition or request for termination of parental rights and the questionnaire, you may proceed with requesting a termination hearing by completing a citation for hearing (no court form available; citation must be drafted). In some limited circumstances, a termination request can be facilitated without a court hearing by ex parte application.
Whether requesting a hearing or not, all documents shall be submitted to the court drop box at the William R. Ridgeway Family Relations Courthouse. You must submit two copies of all documents with a self-addressed stamped envelope.
Your documents will be reviewed by the court before a hearing can be set or an ex parte is approved. If sufficient, a termination hearing will be set 45 days out or an ex parte order will be signed by the court; either of which will be sent to you.