---
title: "List the best-interest facts already in the file"
url: "https://ailawframework.com/practice/family-law/advise-on-a-parenting-arrangement-under-the-best-interests-factors/united-states"
type: "task_jurisdiction_version"
site: "AI Law Framework"
id: "A16-CO20261022-1-US"
practice_area: "Family Law"
tier: "yellow"
lawyer_review: "required"
jurisdictions: ["US"]
last_reviewed: "2026-10-22"
---

# List the best-interest facts already in the file

> List facts already in the file against Family Code section 3011(a)(1) through (a)(4) only, with the document and the page. Leave a blank beside each factor the file does not address.…

Canonical page: https://ailawframework.com/practice/family-law/advise-on-a-parenting-arrangement-under-the-best-interests-factors/united-states  
Last reviewed: 2026-10-22

Site index for agents: https://ailawframework.com/llms.txt

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Practice area | [Family Law](https://ailawframework.com/practice/family-law.md) |
| Human involvement | Yellow: Lawyer and AI draft together |
| How AI is used | List facts already in the file against Family Code section 3011(a)(1) through (a)(4) only, with the document and the page. Leave a blank beside each factor the file does not address. Write no custody advice and no time arrangement. |
| What the lawyer must review | You decide the arrangement. In a proceeding described in section 3021, section 3011(a) requires the court, among any other factors it finds relevant and consistent with section 3020, to consider the health, safety, and welfare of the child; a history of abuse by one parent or any other person seeking custody against the persons named in paragraph (2); the nature and amount of contact with both parents, including as provided in sections 3046 and 3100; and the habitual or continual illegal use of controlled substances, the habitual or continual abuse of alcohol, or the habitual or continual abuse of prescribed controlled substances. The court may require independent corroboration before it considers allegations of abuse or of that use. Paragraph (2) takes the meaning of abuse against a child from Penal Code section 11165.6 and the meaning of abuse against the other named persons from section 6203. Those two sections were not opened, so you open them before you apply the definitions. When allegations under paragraph (2) or (4) are before the court and it orders sole or joint custody or unsupervised visitation to that parent, paragraph (5) requires the court to state reasons in writing or on the record, and to make any custody or visitation order specific as to time, day, place, and manner of transfer as section 6323(c) sets out. Section 6323 was not opened. Subdivision (b) says the court shall not consider the sex, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation of a parent, legal guardian, or relative. Section 3011 does not list the child's views. Section 3020 makes the health, safety, and welfare of children the court's primary concern in a physical or legal custody or visitation order, and frequent and continuing contact with both parents yields when the two policies conflict. Section 3011 was amended by Stats. 2023, ch. 493, effective 1 January 2024. |
| Written for | United States |
| Applies to | [Advise on a parenting arrangement under the best-interests factors](https://ailawframework.com/practice/family-law/advise-on-a-parenting-arrangement-under-the-best-interests-factors.md) |

## Checking plan

- What the AI does: List facts already in the file against Family Code section 3011(a)(1) through (a)(4) only, with the document and the page. Leave a blank beside each factor the file does not address. Write no custody advice and no time arrangement.
- Basis: Checked against the linked sources on 22 October 2026. Confirm the current instrument before reliance.

## Notes

- These sections are California. Another state uses a different best-interest statute.
- Sections 3021, 3046, 3100, 6203, and 6323, and Penal Code section 11165.6, were named and not opened.

## Sources

- [California Family Code § 3011 (best interests of the child)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=3011) (checked 2026-10-22)
- [California Family Code § 3020 (health, safety, and welfare)](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=3020) (checked 2026-10-22)

*Practice guidance for planning and review. Confirm current primary sources and the requirements of the actual matter. This is general information, not legal advice.*