You just got a 730 evaluation order from the judge in your custody case, and you’re not sure what to do next. Perhaps you’re thinking about asking for one because you think it’s the only way to show the court the truth about how your ex is raising their kids.
Understanding this process before it starts can make the difference between a custody arrangement that protects your relationship with your child and one that destroys it.
A 730 evaluation, which gets its name from California Evidence Code Section 730, is one of the most thorough investigations your family will go through during custody proceedings.
A mental health professional chosen by the court will look at almost every part of your family life, including your parenting, your mental health, your home, and your relationship with your child.
Judges put a lot of weight on the evaluator’s suggestions, which often become the basis for custody orders that will affect your life for years.
Schedule a confidential consultation now or call (714) 909-2561Â to discuss whether a 730 evaluation makes sense for your case and how to prepare for one if it’s already been ordered.
What Evidence Code Section 730 Actually Says
Under Evidence Code Section 730, judges can choose expert witnesses to look into and testify about issues that need specialized knowledge. The law says that if the court or either party to the case needs or may need “expert evidence,” the court can appoint one or more experts on its own or on the request of either party to look into the matter, write a report as the court orders, and testify as an expert at the trial.
This law can be used in any case that needs expert testimony, but it is most often used in family law for custody evaluations. Judges use Evidence Code Section 730 as the legal basis for ordering these evaluations when they need professional advice on what custody arrangement is best for a child.
The law says that the court decides how much the expert will be paid and that both sides have the right to question the court-appointed expert. This sets 730 evaluators apart from experts hired by one parent. The evaluator is supposed to serve the court, not either party, but their recommendations will give one parent a big advantage over the other.
When Orange County Judges Order 730 Evaluations
Not every custody fight needs a full custody evaluation, which takes time, money, and privacy. When standard court services and mediation haven’t worked, or there are serious concerns about a child’s safety, OC family court judges usually order 730 evaluations to get expert opinions on how to make smart custody decisions.
Common reasons for evaluations include claims that one or both parents abuse drugs or alcohol, mental health issues that could affect their ability to be a good parent, claims of domestic violence that require careful assessment of the child’s safety, concerns about parental alienation where one parent may be hurting the child’s relationship with the other parent, and major disagreements about whether a parent can safely care for the child.
Judges also order evaluations when one parent wants to move out of state with the child and the other parent doesn’t agree, when parents can’t agree on a custody arrangement even after mediation and court intervention, when the child has special needs that need to be evaluated to see if each parent can meet those needs, or when there are concerns that a new partner’s presence in the home could affect the child’s safety or well-being.
Based on our work at Moshtael Family Law, Orange County judges are more likely to order evaluations in cases where parents can’t talk to each other about their child, cases with a lot of serious accusations that need to be sorted out by a professional, and cases where the judge can’t figure out from the evidence presented which custody arrangement is best for the child.
Who Conducts 730 Evaluations and What Qualifies Them
Orange County maintains a list of approved 730 evaluators who meet specific qualification requirements. California law permits several types of licensed mental health professionals to conduct custody evaluations: licensed psychologists, psychiatrists, licensed clinical social workers, and licensed marriage and family therapists.
However, Family Code Section 3110 and California Rules of Court 5.220 establish strict qualification requirements beyond basic licensure. Evaluators must complete specialized training in child development, the psychological needs of children, parent-child relationships, and the effects of divorce and separation on children.
They must have several years of postgraduate experience working with families and children, complete mandatory training in domestic violence and child abuse dynamics, and demonstrate competence in conducting forensic evaluations rather than therapeutic work.
When an evaluation is ordered, the court either appoints an evaluator from Orange County’s approved list, asks both parties to submit names for the judge to choose from, or permits the parties to stipulate to a specific evaluator they’ve both agreed upon.
The 730 Evaluation Process From Start to Finish
The evaluator will send both parents questionnaires about your background, your child’s history, your worries about custody, your relationship with your child and the other parent, and your proposed custody arrangement after they are chosen. These questionnaires are long and full of information, and the evaluator will use your answers to help them with their investigation.
There are many parts to the evaluation itself. You will have one-on-one interviews with the evaluator, during which they will ask you about your parenting, your childhood and family background, your mental health history, your relationship with your child, your worries about the other parent, and what custody arrangement you think is best for your child. Your child will also be interviewed on their own, and the questions will be changed to fit their age and level of development.
The evaluator will watch you and your child together to see how you interact, how your child reacts to you, how strong your bond is, and how well you parent. They will come to your house to check out the sleeping arrangements, safety, and whether the place is suitable for your child. The evaluator will probably also talk to any new partners or other adults who live in the home.
Psychological tests may be required to look at your personality, mental health, parenting stress, or other things that are important for custody. The evaluator will look at a lot of paperwork, such as court files from your case, school records that show how well your child is doing in school and any behavioral problems, medical records for both you and your child, police reports if there have been incidents of domestic violence or other police involvement, and Child Protective Services records if there has been any involvement with social services.
The evaluator will talk to people who know your family as part of “collateral contacts.” Your child’s teachers, daycare providers, pediatrician, therapists who work with you or your child, extended family members, friends who have seen you parent, and employers or coworkers who can talk about your stability and character are all possible sources.
Family Code Section 3113 says that special steps must be taken when there are claims of domestic violence or protective orders in place. In these cases, the evaluator must meet with each parent at a different time and place to keep the victim safe and stop the alleged abuser from watching or controlling the evaluation process.
If you’re preparing for an evaluation and need guidance on how to present your case effectively, schedule a consultation on our secure online form to discuss strategies with experienced family law attorneys.
How Long Evaluations Take and What They Cost
From the first questionnaire to the final report, a full 730 evaluation usually takes three to six months. The timeline is based on the evaluator’s schedule, how quickly both parents are willing to work together, how many collateral contacts are needed, how difficult it is to schedule home visits and observations, and whether psychological testing is necessary and whether the psychologist who will do it is available right away.
Some cases in Orange County use short “mini-evaluations” or “focused-issue evaluations” that only look at certain questions instead of doing a full assessment. These shorter versions are quicker and cheaper, but they might not give you the full analysis you need for tough custody fights. Your lawyer should talk to you about whether it makes sense to ask for a focused evaluation or whether the problems in your case need a full investigation.
How Much Is The Cost of 730 Evaluations in Orange County?
The cost of 730 evaluations varies a lot. Orange County Family Court Services’ court-connected evaluators charge less than private evaluators, but they may not be available when you need them and may not be right for cases with a lot of conflict or a lot of involvement. Depending on their qualifications and experience, private evaluators charge between $200 and $400 per hour or more.
The total cost of a full private evaluation is usually between $10,000 and $25,000, and in some cases, it can be even higher. Mini-evaluations or focused evaluations could cost between $5,000 and $8,000. The court decides how much each parent has to pay for the evaluation based mostly on how much money they make and how much they can afford to pay.
When both parents have similar amounts of money, courts usually order them to split the costs evenly. However, if one parent makes a lot more money than the other, the court may order that parent to pay all or most of the costs.
Some courts tell one parent to pay the costs up front “subject to reallocation,” which means that the court may later change who has to pay based on the results of the evaluation or the financial situation of each party. This requirement to pay in advance can be hard on the wallet, but courts usually see evaluation costs as necessary to settle custody disputes fairly.
What the Evaluator’s Report Contains and How Judges Use It
The evaluator writes a report after the investigation is over that includes their findings and suggestions. California Rules of Court 5.220 says that evaluation reports must include:
- A description of the evaluation process and procedures used;
- A summary of the data collected from all sources;
- An analysis of the data that looks at the child’s developmental needs and each parent’s ability to meet those needs;
- Specific findings about the factors set forth in Family Code Section 3011 (the “best interests” factors that courts must consider); and
- Detailed custody and visitation recommendations with explanations for why these arrangements are in the child’s best interests.
The report talks about both legal custody, which is the right to make decisions about the child’s health, education, and welfare, and physical custody, which is where the child lives and the schedule for parenting time.
Recommendations may encompass:
- Joint legal custody with delineated decision-making protocols for parents;
- Sole legal custody awarded to one parent with or without consultation rights for the other;
- Equitable or nearly equitable parenting time;
- Primary residence designated to one parent accompanied by regular visitation for the other;
- Supervised visitation in the presence of safety concerns, or incremental plans that progressively enhance parenting time as a parent mitigates specified issues.
Judges in Orange County usually pay a lot of attention to the recommendations of 730 evaluators. Judges don’t have to follow these suggestions, and they have the final say over custody decisions. However, they do rely heavily on the evaluator’s professional knowledge and thorough investigation. To get past a bad evaluation recommendation, you need strong reasons and strong evidence.
You get a copy of the evaluation report before any hearing, where it will be looked at. This gives you and your lawyer time to go over the findings, find any mistakes or problems, decide whether to accept or fight the recommendations, and get ready for the hearing where custody will be decided.
Your Rights to Challenge an Evaluation
If you disagree with the evaluator’s findings or recommendations, you have several options. You can cross-examine the evaluator at the custody hearing, questioning their methodology, challenging their conclusions, and pointing out information they may have overlooked or misinterpreted. The evaluator must appear and testify if subpoenaed, giving you the opportunity to challenge their work directly.
Evidence Code Section 733 allows you to hire your own expert to review the evaluation and testify about problems with the evaluator’s methods or conclusions. However, your expert typically cannot simply substitute their own opinion about what custody arrangement is best—rather, they explain why the court should question or disregard the 730 evaluator’s views due to flawed methodology, bias, reliance on incomplete information, or failure to follow proper standards.
You can present other evidence contradicting the evaluation’s findings—testimony from witnesses the evaluator didn’t contact, documents showing the evaluator reached conclusions based on inaccurate information, or evidence of changed circumstances since the evaluation was completed.
You can also request a second evaluation if you can show the first evaluation was fundamentally flawed, though judges grant these requests only rarely and usually only when clear evidence of evaluator bias or serious procedural problems exists.
The practical reality is that successfully overcoming an unfavorable evaluation requires significant evidence and a persuasive argument. Simply disagreeing with the evaluator’s recommendations or believing they didn’t properly understand your family won’t suffice.
You need to demonstrate actual problems with the evaluation process or present compelling evidence showing why different custody arrangements better serve your child’s interests despite the evaluator’s conclusions.
When 730 Evaluations Make Sense and When They Don’t
Not every custody dispute requires the expense, time, and intrusion of a full evaluation. Before requesting or agreeing to one, consider carefully whether it truly serves your interests and your child’s wellbeing.
Evaluations make sense when legitimate concerns exist that require professional assessment, when you have evidence the other parent has serious problems affecting their parenting ability, when the conflict between you and the other parent is severe enough that the judge needs neutral professional input to sort through competing claims, or when there are legitimate questions about the best custody arrangement that professional expertise can help resolve.
Evaluations may hurt your case if you’re the parent with more issues or concerns in your background, if you don’t present well under scrutiny or struggle with the formal interview process, if your relationship with your child is strained and observations won’t be favorable, or if you’re requesting the evaluation primarily to harass or burden the other parent financially.
The decision to request a 730 evaluation should never be made without careful consultation with your attorney about whether the likely benefits outweigh the substantial costs and risks.
Protecting Your Custody Rights: Call A Trusted OC Lawyer
A 730 evaluation is a big step forward in your custody case. The evaluator’s suggestions will probably have a big impact on the custody orders you have to follow for years to come. These orders will change how you interact with your child every day and your role in their life. If you know how the process works, prepare well, and present yourself well, you can keep your relationship with your child or limit it.
If you’re thinking about asking for an evaluation, responding to the other parent’s request for one, or going through an evaluation that has already been ordered, having a lawyer with experience can make a big difference in the outcome.
Schedule a confidential consultation now or call (714) 909-2561 to discuss your custody case with the family law attorneys at Moshtael Family Law.Â
We’ll evaluate whether a 730 evaluation serves your interests, prepare you thoroughly if one is ordered, and fight to protect your parental rights throughout the evaluation and custody process.
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