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California Family Code Section 17406

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17406.  (a) In all actions involving paternity or support,
including, but not limited to, other proceedings under this code, and
under Division 9 (commencing with Section 10000) of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, the local child support agency and the Attorney
General represent the public interest in establishing, modifying, and
enforcing support obligations. No attorney-client relationship shall
be deemed to have been created between the local child support
agency or Attorney General and any person by virtue of the action of
the local child support agency or the Attorney General in carrying
out these statutory duties.
   (b) Subdivision (a) is declaratory of existing law.
   (c) In all requests for services of the local child support agency
or Attorney General pursuant to Section 17400 relating to actions
involving paternity or support, not later than the same day an
individual makes a request for these services in person, and not
later than five working days after either (1) a case is referred for
services from the county welfare department, (2) receipt of a request
by mail for an application for services, or (3) an individual makes
a request for services by telephone, the local child support agency
or Attorney General shall give notice to the individual requesting
services or on whose behalf services have been requested that the
local child support agency or Attorney General does not represent the
individual or the children who are the subject of the case, that no
attorney-client relationship exists between the local child support
agency or Attorney General and those persons, and that no such
representation or relationship shall arise if the local child support
agency or Attorney General provides the services requested. Notice
shall be in bold print and in plain English and shall be translated
into the language understandable by the recipient when reasonable.
The notice shall include the advice that the absence of an
attorney-client relationship means that communications from the
recipient are not privileged and that the local child support agency
or Attorney General may provide support enforcement services to the
other parent in the future.
   (d) The local child support agency or Attorney General shall give
the notice required pursuant to subdivision (c) to all recipients of
services under Section 17400 who have not otherwise been provided
that notice, not later than the date of the next annual notice
required under Section 11476.2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
This notice shall include notification to the recipient of services
under Section 17400 that the recipient may inspect the clerk's file
at the office of the clerk of the court, and that, upon request, the
local child support agency, or, if appropriate, the Attorney General,
will furnish a copy of the most recent order entered in the case.
   (e) The local child support agency or, if appropriate, the
Attorney General shall serve a copy of the complaint for paternity or
support, or both, on recipients of support services under Section
17400, as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section
17404. A notice shall accompany the complaint that informs the
recipient that the local child support agency or Attorney General may
enter into a stipulated order resolving the complaint, and that the
recipient shall assist the prosecuting attorney, by sending all
information on the noncustodial parent's earnings and assets to the
prosecuting attorney.
   (f) (1) (A) The local child support agency or Attorney General
shall provide written notice to recipients of services under Section
17400 of the initial date and time, and purpose of every hearing in a
civil action for paternity or support.
   (B) Once the parent who has requested or is receiving support
enforcement services becomes a party to the action pursuant to
subdivision (e) of Section 17404, in lieu of the above, the local
child support agency or Attorney General shall serve on a parent all
pleadings relating to paternity or support that have been served on
the local child support agency by the other parent. The pleading
shall be accompanied by a notice.
   (C) The notice provided subject to subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall
include the following language:
                                 IMPORTANT NOTICE
   It may be important that you attend the hearing. The local child
support agency does not represent you or your children. You may have
information about the other parent, such as information about his or
her income or assets that will not be presented to the court unless
you attend the hearing. You have the right to attend the hearing and
to be heard in court and tell the court what you think the court
should do with the child support order. This hearing could change
your rights or your children's rights to support.

   (2) The notice shall state the purpose of the hearing or be
attached to the motion or other pleading which caused the hearing to
be scheduled.
   (3) The notice shall be provided separate from all other material
and shall be in at least 14-point type. The failure of the local
child support agency or Attorney General to provide the notice
required pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) does not
affect the validity of any order.
   (4) (A) The notice required pursuant to subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (1) shall be provided not later than seven calendar days
prior to the hearing, or, if the local child support agency or
Attorney General receives notice of the hearing less than seven days
prior to the hearing, within two days of the receipt by the local
child support agency or Attorney General of the notice of the
hearing.
   (B) Service of the notice and the pleadings required pursuant to
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) shall be completed not later than
five days after receipt of the pleadings served on the local child
support agency by the parent.
   (5) The local child support agency or Attorney General shall, in
order to implement this subdivision, make reasonable efforts to
ensure that the local child support agency or Attorney General has
current addresses for all parties to the child support action.
   (g) The local child support agency or Attorney General shall give
notice to recipients of services under Section 17400 of every order
obtained by the local child support agency or Attorney General that
establishes or modifies the support obligation for the recipient or
the children who are the subject of the order, by sending a copy of
the order to the recipient. The notice shall be made within the time
specified by federal law after the order has been filed. The local
child support agency or Attorney General shall also give notice to
these recipients of every order obtained in any other jurisdiction
that establishes or modifies the support obligation for the recipient
or the children who are the subject of the order, and which is
received by the local child support agency or Attorney General, by
sending a copy of the order to the recipient within the timeframe
specified by federal law after the local child support agency or
Attorney General has received a copy of the order. In any action
enforced under Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 4900) of Part 5 of
Division 9, the notice shall be made in compliance with the
requirements of that chapter. The failure of the local child support
agency or Attorney General to comply with this subdivision does not
affect the validity of any order.
   (h) The local child support agency or Attorney General shall give
notice to the noncustodial parent against whom a civil action is
filed that the local child support agency or Attorney General is not
the attorney representing any individual, including, but not limited
to, the custodial parent, the child, or the noncustodial parent.
   (i) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude any
person who is receiving services under Section 17400 from filing and
prosecuting an independent action to establish, modify, and enforce
an order for current support on behalf of himself or herself or a
child if that person is not receiving public assistance.
   (j) A person who is receiving services under Section 17400 but who
is not currently receiving public assistance on his or her own
behalf or on behalf of a child shall be asked to execute, or consent
to, any stipulation establishing or modifying a support order in any
action in which that person is named as a party, before the
stipulation is filed. The local child support agency or Attorney
General may not submit to the court for approval a stipulation to
establish or modify a support order in the action without first
obtaining the signatures of all parties to the action, their
attorneys of record, or persons authorized to act on their behalf.
Any stipulation approved by the court in violation of this
subdivision shall be void.
   (k) The local child support agency or Attorney General may not
enter into a stipulation that reduces the amount of past due support,
including interest and penalties accrued pursuant to an order of
current support, on behalf of a person who is receiving support
enforcement services under Section 17400 and who is owed support
arrearages that exceed unreimbursed public assistance paid to the
recipient of the support enforcement services, without first
obtaining the consent of the person who is receiving services under
Section 17400 on his or her own behalf or on behalf of the child.
   (l) The notices required in this section shall be provided in the
following manner:
   (1) In all cases in which the person receiving services under
Section 17400 resides in California, notice shall be provided by
mailing the item by first-class mail to the last known address of, or
personally delivering the item to, that person.
   (2) In all actions enforced under Chapter 6 (commencing with
Section 4900) of Part 5 of Division 9, unless otherwise specified,
notice shall be provided by mailing the item by first-class mail to
the initiating court.
   (m) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
notices provided for pursuant to subdivisions (c) to (g), inclusive,
are not required in foster care cases.

Last modified: February 22, 2013