FAM § 3087

Modify/terminate joint custody if best interest. FAM §3087

FAM § 3087: Joint custody may be modified/terminated on petition or court's own motion if best interest. If opposed, court must state reasons.

Official text FAM § 3087 — California

An order for joint custody may be modified or terminated upon the petition of one or both parents or on the court’s own motion if it is shown that the best interest of the child requires modification or termination of the order. If either parent opposes the modification or termination order, the court shall state in its decision the reasons for modification or termination of the joint custody order.

Text as published in the 2026 snapshot of the code.

Source: Vaquill Open US Law, compiled from official state publishers (huggingface.co), reproduced under license CC BY 4.0.

Read this provision at the official source →

What it actually says

Section 3087 deals with what happens after a joint custody order exists. An order for joint custody may be modified or terminated on the petition of one or both parents, or on the court's own motion, if it is shown that the best interest of the child requires modification or termination. If either parent opposes the change, the court must state in its decision the reasons for modifying or terminating the joint custody order.

Three features are worth separating. The court may act on its own motion, so a change does not depend on either parent asking. The standard is the best interest of the child requiring modification or termination — not merely permitting it or being consistent with it — which is a real threshold and reflects that stability is itself part of a child's interest. And the requirement to state reasons where a parent objects is a check: it makes the basis of the change reviewable rather than left to inference.

The section says nothing about what circumstances justify a change, which is where most of the argument in these cases actually sits. Best interest is determined under §§ 3011 and 3020, and California case law has built a substantial body of doctrine around when a final custody order may be revisited and what must be shown. A parent's inconvenience, a new partner, or a disagreement about schooling are not, without more, the kind of showing the section contemplates. Whether a particular change in circumstances is enough to reopen an order is one of the most fact-dependent questions in family law and should be taken to a family lawyer.

When it applies

  • A joint custody order that has stopped working as the child got older
  • One parent repeatedly not following the schedule
  • A parent relocating and the existing order becoming impractical
  • A serious change in a parent's circumstances or health
  • A parent asking the court to end joint legal custody over school decisions
  • You want to know why the court cannot simply be asked to reconsider

What this section does not say

  • It does not list grounds for a change. The section provides the mechanism and the standard; what circumstances justify modification comes from case law and from §§ 3011 and 3020.
  • It is not a review on request. The best interest of the child must require modification or termination, which is a higher bar than one parent preferring a different arrangement.
  • It does not require both parents to agree. Either parent may petition, and the court may act on its own motion.
  • It does not apply only to physical custody. A joint custody order includes joint legal custody, and either can be modified or terminated under this section.
  • It does not affect support. Changing a custody order does not by itself change a support order, which runs under separate provisions.

Worked examples

Invented situations, written to show how the wording bites. They are not real cases, not judgments and not precedent, and nothing here predicts what would happen in yours.

Illustrative example

A joint custody order agreed three years ago no longer fits: the children are older, their activities fall at weekends, and the midweek transfers cause repeated arguments.

How the wording applies

Section 3087 allows a joint custody order to be modified or terminated where it is in the best interest of the child, and requires the court to state its reasons if a parent objects. The fact this turns on is that the arrangement no longer serves the children rather than that one parent would prefer a different one, which is a higher bar than a request to reconsider.

How the parties settled it

The parents agree a revised schedule reducing midweek moves and file it as a stipulated modification, with a review after a year.

Illustrative example

One parent repeatedly returns the children late and changes weekends at short notice, and the other asks for joint physical custody to be ended.

How the wording applies

Modification requires the child's best interest to require it, so a pattern rather than a handful of incidents is what matters. It hinges on the record: dated logs of the changes and their effect on school and activities do the work, and this section supplies the mechanism while the substance comes from sections 3011 and 3020.

How the parties settled it

The order is amended to a firm schedule with a written change protocol and a notice period, and the parents use a shared calendar with any change confirmed in writing.

Related sections

FAM § 3040 Parents First for Child Custody | FAM § 3040 FAM § 3011 California Family Code § 3011 - The factors a court weighs in a custody decision FAM § 3100 Visitation Rights & Restraining Orders: FAM § 3100 FAM § 3044 5-year domestic violence custody presumption: FAM § 3044

That's the law. Now let's settle your problem.

Say what is happening. A neutral mediator hears your side and the other party's, and walks you both to a written agreement. In the advanced settings you can ask for the decision to be reasoned on the California Codes.

This is with

Or open a session directly and invite the other party.

We copy this text from the official publisher and re-check it against that source on every page load, but we cannot guarantee it is complete, current or free of error, and we accept no liability for any reliance on it. An amendment can take effect before a consolidation catches up. The publisher's own copy is linked below; where the two differ, it is the official one that counts.

This page reproduces the text of FAM § 3087 in force at the date shown and explains it in general terms. It is not legal advice and takes no account of the circumstances of your case, which can change the answer completely. For a live dispute, for limitation periods, and before taking any step in court, consult a qualified lawyer in California.

← All California law pages