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Family

Jul. 7, 2026

Custody disputes increasingly cross borders in California family courts

California family courts are increasingly being asked to resolve custody disputes that span countries, languages and cultures-- resulting in custody arrangements fundamentally different from those of past decades.

Noel E. Guth

Attorney
Guth & Changaris

Email: noel@attorneyguth.com

See more...

Custody disputes increasingly cross borders in California family courts
Shutterstock

California family courts increasingly confront custody disputes where "home" means two countries, school calendars span multiple time zones and a child's extended family speaks three languages across continents. These are not edge cases--they are the new normal in a state where nearly half of all children have at least one immigrant parent. Marisol Cuellar Mejia and Hans Johnson, "Immigrants in California," Public Policy Inst. of Cal. 1 (Jan. 2026).

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