| GIVING NOTICE RE: BECOMING A GUARDIAN |
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How to Give Notice
The law says you must "give notice" to certain people, relatives and agencies. This means someone—not you—must "serve" (give) copies of your court forms either personally or by mail to those people and agencies so they will know you are asking to be the guardian of the child.
You must do this even if you think they don't care or they disagree with you.
There are rules for giving notice. You must follow them carefully. Otherwise, you may have to go start all over.
There are 2 kinds of notice: personal and by mail.
This means the server—not you—personally hands a copy of the forms you filed at least 15 days before the hearing.
Unless the judge gives you special permission, you cannot serve the parents by mail.
Notice by Mail
This means the server—not you—mails a copy of the forms you filed at least 15 days before the court hearing.
Note: The child's grandparents are the parents of the child's mother and the parents of the child's father
This means the server—not you—mails a copy of the forms you filed at least 15 days before the court hearing to your county Department of Human Services or Department of Social Services.
If you are not related by blood, marriage or adoption to the child, someone—not you—must mail a copy of the forms you filed at least 15 days before the court hearing to:
State Department of Social Services
Director of Social Services
744 P Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
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Who can serve?
Ask someone you know who is at least 18 years old. Or ask a process server. A "Process Server" is a business you pay to delivery court forms. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Process Serving."
What happens after the server serves the forms?
The server must fill out and give you a Proof of Service.
For personal service, the server fills out and signs the Proof of Service, Form GC- 020(P) and then gives it to you.
For service by mail, the server fills out and signs the Proof of Service by Mail on the back of the Notice of Hearing Form GC- 020 and then gives is to you.
File your Proof of Service forms with the Probate Court Clerk before your court date.
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What if the parents and relatives agree that I can be the guardian?
Anyone who agrees that you can be the guardian and does not want to get a notice of the court date, can sign the Consent and Waiver of Notice part of Form GC- 211.
You don't have to give notice to anyone who signs this part of the form. If they don't sign the form, you still have to give them notice, even if they say they agree you can be the guardian.
What if I don't know where the parents or relatives are?
Try to find the parents or relatives by:
- Asking all family members and friends,
- Looking in phone books, or
- Calling telephone information
- Doing anything else you think could help you find them.
Courts have different requirements about what you need to do to find any missing relatives or the parents. Make sure you check with your local court so that you take all the necessary steps.
Once you do everything you need to find the parents or relatives and you still can't find them, you have to ask the court for permission to continue your case without giving notice to the missing relatives or parents.
Contact the jail or prison and ask them to personally serve the forms at the jail or prison.
If the jail can't personally serve the papers, you must ask the court for permission to serve by mail.
If the judge sign the order letting you serve the parent in jail by mail, this means you can have someone—not you—serve the court forms by mail to the person in jail.
How can I find someone in jail or prison?
- You can find someone in state prison by calling the California Department of Corrections.
- You must have either the inmate's CDC number, or the inmate's full name and date of birth to get information.
Federal Prison
- To find someone in federal prison, PRISON for the Federal Bureau of Prison's Inmate Locator database.
- You can search the database using the inmate's first and last name or the inmate's Register Number, DCDC Number, FBI Number, or INS Number.
- To find a list of federal correctional facilities, FACILITY for the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Fill in whatever information you know (like the state or city you’re looking for) and hit “submit”.
- You can find someone in county jail by calling the jail.
- You can usually find the phone number and address for the jail by calling the county Sheriff.
What if a parent is out-of-state or in another country?
You must still get a server—not you—to personally hand a copy of the court papers you filed at least 15 days before the court hearing.
If the server was not able to personally serve the parent, you must ask the court for permission to serve by mail.
If the judge signs the order giving you permission, this means you can have someone—not you—serve the parent by mail.
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