Family law practitioners use stipulations to streamline custody proceedings. When both parents agree—even in domestic violence cases—the instinct is to write it up, hand it to the court and move on. That instinct is understandable. Dockets are overburdened. Litigation is expensive. A stipulation on custody seems to serve everyone.   

But In re Marriage of J.G. & K.G. (2025) 110 Cal.App.5th 1214 is the appellate courts’ latest reminder what custody stipulations can and cannot do. The issue is worth stating plainly: Parties can stipulate to facts; they cannot stipulate to findings. In a California Family Code § 3044 case, that distinction is everything.

Full article below: