or FL-324NP

Cal. Form N-18

California Superior Local Rules

Department N-18 Hon. Renee N.G. Stackhouse As of January 15, 2026 For Reference: California Rules of Court, Family and Juvenile Rules Superior Court of California, County of San Diego Local Rules (Family Law) Family Law Forms Family Court Services Family Law Facilitator Administrative: a. All stipulations must be in writing. Blank forms are available in the Department. b. Copies of the Minute Order or any other documents in the file are available in the Family Law Business Office. c.

All filings should be filed in the Family Law Business Office unless the Court gave specific instructions to file documents in the Department. d. For any inquires regarding continuances contact the calendar clerk at 760-201-8232 or submit a Notice of Continuance Request/Settlement online webform. Child Testimony: If you would like to call a child as a witness, you must first review California Rule of Court, Rule 5.250(d)(3). Please also see Evidence Code

section and Family Code

Section 3042. Advise the court as soon as possible as to whether a child wishes to address the Court. The Court will consider all pertinent factors, including those set forth in California Rule of Court, Rule 5.250(

c) and (d). If the Court does not permit the child’s testimony, it may utilize an alternative, such as an FCS interview or appointing Minor’s Counsel. Court Reporters: Effective November 30, 2021, official court reporters are not normally available in family law matters (with the exception of Family Support Division [FSD] matters and Contempt Hearings). A party who has been granted a waiver of court fees and costs may request the services of an official court reporter, free of charge, for a proceeding for which a reporter is not normally available and for which electronic recording is not provided.

More information is available here. Ex Parte matters: Ex parte appearances are set by reservation Monday through Friday at 08:30 a.m. or at such other time as the court may designate. Papers are due before noon the day prior to the hearing, with the appropriate fee. All parties must be noticed of the ex parte by 10:00 a.m. and all papers should be filed and served by 12:00 p.m. the day before the hearing. (see California Rule of Court 5.165(

b) and Local Rule 5.3.1). All ex parte applications must comply with California Rule of Court 5.151. and Local Rule 5.3.1.) Family Court Services: The parties may ask to reschedule an FCS session one time by notifying FCS directly of their joint agreement to reschedule, no later than 4:00 p.m. on the court business day before the session. PLEASE NOTE: Doing so may impact your ability to move forward on the date of your Request for Order. Failures to Appear at FCS will be sanctioned by the Court. The first failure to appear will be sanctioned at $250. The second at $500. The third at $1,000.

Family Resolution Conference (FRC): Parties seeking MSCs or Trials at the FRC should look at the specific requirements for each below and in the Local Rules. Flash Drives: The court will not insert flash drives into the computer system. If you want to show a video or other evidence on a flash drive (or CD), bring a computer with you or have an alternate method (cell phone, tablet, etc.) available. Mandatory Settlement Conferences (MSCs): Please refer to Local Rule 5.8.1. These may not be taken off calendar unless by the court.

If a pro tem is not available, the parties are still obligated to meet and make a good faith effort to settle the case. Restraining Orders: a. Dismissals by the protected party require providing a valid identification card. b. Dept. 18 requires DV dismissals to occur via an ex parte calendar. The court will not dismiss on a DV-300 alone in order to verify identity. c. If there is a family law case that contains a Temporary Restraining Order or Restraining Order After Hearing, any requests to change custody and visitation should made through a properly noticed Request for Order (not through a DV-300). d.

No DVTROs will be extended longer than six months via stipulation between the parties. Requests for Orders/Motion Hearings: a. A Request for Order (RFO) is a motion hearing. It is a court hearing. You may not appear remotely while walking around, driving, or engaging in any other activity other than appearing for court. b. The parties, whether represented or not, are expected to meet and confer prior to filing an RFO and prior to appearing at an RFO hearing, absent a legal restraint such as a Criminal Protective Order, Military Protective Order, Emergency Protective Order, or Temporary/Restraining Order. c.

RFO hearings are set for a default of 20 minutes unless additional time is requested at the time of filing per Local Rule 5.5.1(A). d. Move-Away hearings, specifically, should be set for at least 40 minutes, if a longer Evidentiary Hearing is not required. All the La Musga move-away factors must be addressed in advance of the hearing for the court. e. The Court prepares for every RFO hearing in advance. It will read all relevant, timely filed pleadings and may review anything else in the Court file.

The Court will begin each hearing by advising what it has reviewed in order for the parties to advise if there have been any timely filings which the court does not have. f. Lodgments are not read in advance of the RFO hearing. These are subject to evidentiary objections and may not be admitted into evidence. Lodgments will be available for reference and ruling on objections during the hearing. g. Late filed pleadings are not read. h. Joint proposed X-Spouse print outs are encouraged to be submitted for temporary spousal support and child support hearings.

When the parties are unable to agree, proposed X-Spouse print outs from each party are encouraged. i. Professional and nonprofessional supervisors must fill out and file forms FL-324P (professional) or FL-324NP (nonprofessional) prior to any court-ordered visitations taking place. Trials in Department 18 (2 days or less): a. A Trial Readiness Conferences (TRC) will be set for one month prior to trial call on Tuesdays at 9:00 a.m. b. The parties will confirm that they are ready to go, the time estimate is still appropriate, witnesses, issues, and appearances (remote or in person) at the TRC.

Any issues of which the parties are aware that may preclude trial from moving forward must be brought to the court’s attention at this time. c. Discovery deadlines apply to first trial date provided unless reopened by the Court specifically when/if a trial is continued. d. Attorneys and parties may appear remotely with the expectation that it will not hinder or delay the trial in any way and that all parties and witnesses will have the ability to access all exhibits while still appearing on screen via Microsoft Teams. e.

Absent extremely good cause, the Court will not continue a hearing solely on the ground that a witness has not appeared because the party did not timely or properly service that witness with a subpoena. f. Parties are encouraged to stipulate to the admissibility of exhibits where possible. g. The court will not receive exhibits en masse. h. Exhibits should be provided to the court in a binder and tabbed for ease of reference. i. Avoid speaking objections. State only the legal ground(

s) for your objection unless asked by the court to elaborate. If there are multiple counsel, no tag teaming of objections will be permitted. Only the attorney presenting argument or examining the witness may object. j. Trial/Long RFO requirements can be found here. Trial Setting (More than 2 days): a. Trial Setting Conferences (TSCs) are set in Dept. 603 (Central). b.

If the parties are asking for a TSC, they must submit a joint statement (preferred) or separate statements on their trial plans, including time estimate, the issues expected to be tried, the number of witnesses, whether the witnesses will be remote or in person, and whether there will be experts witnesses. c. The information above in (

b) should be submitted to Department directly (or if filed, with a courtesy copy to ensure timely receipt) in advance of any FRC where a Trial Setting will be requested.

Document details

Collection	California Superior Local Rules
Citation	Cal. Form N-18
Type	court_rule
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	CA_LOCAL
Identifier	aeaa3d3df665a5a69cdf52693a21de675a6cfb2b

Source file is stored in the law ingest library (pdf).