CALIFORNIA FAMILY LAW
...Custody and Visitation
......Attorney for Children
.........Duties of/Proper Role
............Case Law
10 Cards On This Topic:

Appellate counsel may move to dismiss dependency appeal based on C's best interests, and appellate court may rule on motion, which requires C's or CAPTA GAL's authorization.

Order for funds for counsel appointed to represent Cs on appeal to visit clients may be ordered under appropriate circumstances.

Court-appointed counsel for children may make "recommendations" to the trial court regarding custody, visitation, and other issues relevant to their client's interests.

Where siblings separated erroneously by court and actual conflict arose, trial court on remand must appoint separate counsel for each child.

Attorney may not continue to represent multiple minors among whom there is an actual conflict of interest, and when an actual conflict arises, attorney must be relieved from representation of any of them.

When there are multiple children with conflicting interests, trial ct. needs to determine if each C needs separate counsel or whether they can be divided into groups, each with separate attorney.

While counsel for child must consider child's preferences, need not follow when not in child's best interests.

Attorney properly discharged duty by recommending granting of former Civil Code section 232 petition. No duty to inquire into young children's preferences.

Proper role of attorney appointed to represent child in action to declare M free from parental custody and control or other custody proceeding.

Not error to fail to appoint counsel for 4-year-old child in former Civil Code section 232 proceeding.