What is a 730 Evaluation in California?

A 730 evaluation is completed by experts who are appointed by the court so that they are unbiased and objective. There are numerous reasons why they are requested or even required to take place and they are often required in cases involving child custody when the parents are each vying to be the custodial parent.

What Is a 730 Evaluation?

A 730 evaluation is intended for the court to get an expert opinion on a certain matter, but it is not just used in cases that involve child custody issues. In fact, any time that the courts deem it necessary to acquire an expert opinion on anything, this type of evaluation will be requested. In child custody matters, a 730 is often requested when one or more of the parents has a complex or unusual situation or lifestyle. It can even be ordered in cases involving forensic accounting, appraisals, and many other situations.

These evaluations can also be requested at any time, including before, after, or even during the trial itself. In California, most of the child custody issues center on legal custody, physical custody, or parenting time. 730 evaluations can help quite a bit in deciding the final outcome of these types of cases. Many people think that the evaluations only involve psychological evaluations; in fact, they can be utilized to determine a lot of things, not just the stability of a particular individual.

Who Can Complete These Evaluations?

As you can likely guess, a 730 evaluation can only be conducted by certain individuals. In the state of California, this includes:

• Clinical social worker
• Marriage or family therapist
• Physician or psychiatrist (board certified)
• Psychologist

In some instances, other experts can be appointed instead but that is normally only allowed to happen when no licensed professional is available or when the court otherwise deems it appropriate. The final approval, however, must come from the court. These instances are not all that common because most of the time, the experts are the only ones that the court will trust to do the job right.

The person conducting the evaluations has certain ethical requirements and a lot is expected from these individuals. They must collect the data, analyze the results, and use multiple sources in order to assess the situation accurately and properly. When working with children during custody matters, for example, they must be careful not to influence the child’s answers and push that child towards a certain outcome. In other words, they are there to evaluate the situation and should have no interest in the outcome.

What Factors Are Relevant in a 730 Evaluation?

Certain factors are sometimes addressed in a 730 evaluation even though their importance may be deemed more relevant in some cases than in others. Some of these factors include:

• Domestic violence
• Sexual abuse
• Substance abuse and addiction

Since each case is different, it is impossible to describe exactly how these issues will affect the evaluation process, but since they are part of the custody issue in many instances, it is good to know that they can be addressed if needed.

Some Things You Should Know

There are other things about a 730 evaluation that are considered important and that people wonder about. They include:

• Either party can request to hire someone to challenge the results of the evaluation, even though the request could be denied.
• In certain child custody cases where there is a lot of conflict between the two parties, it can resolve a lot of issues.
• It can be initiated either with or without agreement between the two parties.
• It can be paid for by both parties or by one partner, with or without reallocation (meaning that the other partner may be required to pay for part of the evaluation at a later date).
• It can make the case a little more complex if the case involves financial issues.

Although these evaluations are fairly common, this doesn’t mean that they aren’t extremely valuable. If your case involves one of these evaluations and you are unsure what it will mean for that case, always speak up and ask your lawyer questions so that you fully understand what is going on and how the evaluation may or may not affect the outcome of your case.