1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Respondent. Petitioner, vs. IN RE THE MATTER OF: ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No.: ORDER APPOINTING COUNSEL FOR MINOR(S) FC § 3150 SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES 1. The Court hereby appoints _______________________________________, whose address and phone are: ____________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ as an officer of this Court, pursuant to the provisions of California Family Code sections 3150, 3151, 3152 and 3153 for the purpose of representing the best interests of the minor child(ren):_________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ in the pending proceedings. 2. The court finds that the factors numbered ___________ and listed in Section 20.5, subdivision (b), of the Standards of Judicial Administration recommended by the Judicial Council in the Appendix to the California Rules of Court, are present in this FAM-013 Rev 12/06 Order Appointing Counsel for Minor(s) FC §3150 Page 1 of 7 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkflow.com 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 case. The issues with which counsel may be of service include: ______________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ 3. The parties and their counsel are ordered to cooperate with child's counsel to permit counsel to perform the duties of said appointment. In addition to the rights and duties of counsel as described in Family Code section 3151, a copy of which is attached and the particulars of which the parties are deemed to have knowledge, and any other rights conferred upon counsel pursuant to California law: a. Counsel for the minor(s) shall be provided with complete copies of all relevant pleadings within ten (10) days of this appointment. Each party shall provide legible copies of that party's pleadings in the immediately pending action, and to the extent that counsel for the minor child(ren) may request, pleadings setting forth prior existing orders and applications relevant to the issues pending before this Court. b. The parties shall make arrangements as directed by counsel for the minor child(ren), to permit counsel to interview the minor client(s) at counsel's office and, as may be requested by counsel, at such other places as he/she may direct, including but not limited to the home(s) and school(s) of the minor(s). c. The parties shall provide complete information concerning school, medical, psychological/psychiatric and/or other service providers for the minor(s) from whom relevant information may be available to counsel for the child(ren), including names, addresses and telephone numbers of said providers and approximate dates of such services. To the extent available to a party, school, medical and other pertinent records shall be provided to the child(ren)'s counsel upon request. The parties shall execute such waivers and releases requested to facilitate access to records for the minor(s). 4. Pursuant to Family Code Section 3151(a), counsel for the minor child(ren) shall have the following duties, unless under the circumstances it is inappropriate to exercise these duties: interviewing the child(ren), reviewing the court files and all FAM-013 Rev 12/06 Order Appointing Counsel for Minor(s) FC §3150 Page 2 of 7 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkflow.com 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 accessible relevant records available to both parties and making any further investigations as counsel for the minor child(ren) deems necessary to ascertain facts relevant to the custody or visitation hearings. Counsel for the minor child(ren) may introduce and examine counsel's own witnesses, present arguments to the court concerning the child(ren)'s welfare and participate further in the proceedings to the degree necessary to adequately represent the child(ren). 5. Family Code Section 3151 (c) further provides that counsel for the minor child(ren) shall have the following rights and responsibilities incident to counsel's representation of the minor child(ren): reasonable access to the child(ren) with adequate notice; notice of any and all proceedings including any request for examinations affecting the child(ren); access to medical and school records for the child(ren); the right to veto any physical or psychological examination or evaluation, for the purposes of this proceeding, which has not been ordered by the court; the right to assert on behalf of the child(ren) any privilege for discovery purposes; and the right to seek independent psychological or physical examination or evaluation of the child(ren) for purposes of the pending proceeding, upon application to the court. 6. Counsel for the minor child(ren) may, upon noticed motion to all parties and the local child protective services agency, request the court to authorize the release of relevant reports or files concerning the child(ren) represented by counsel, of the relevant child protective services agency. The court shall review the reports or files in camera in order to determine if they are relevant to the pending action and whether and to what extent they should be released to counsel for the minor child(ren). Neither the review by the court nor the release to counsel shall constitute a waiver of the confidentiality of those records or files. Counsel shall not disclose the contents or existence of those files or records to anyone unless otherwise permitted by law. 7. The parties and their counsel shall not compromise, settle, dismiss, or otherwise remove from the court's calendar all or any portion of the issues, claims, or proceedings concerning which child's counsel has been appointed without advance FAM-013 Rev 12/06 Order Appointing Counsel for Minor(s) FC §3150 Page 3 of 7 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkflow.com 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 notice to child's counsel and court approval of such compromise, settlement, dismissal, or removal from calendar. 8. All custodians of records relating to the minor child(ren) and all providers of services who have a confidential or nonconfidential relationship with the minor child(ren) shall communicate with, shall reveal confidential and nonconfidential communications f