Report Title:
Family Court; Joint Custody
Description:
Provides that a court's denial of a request for joint custody of a child must be justified by specific findings and conclusions and clear and convincing evidence.
|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
1450 |
|
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007 |
|
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to family court.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the natural relationship between parents and their children is a basic and fundamental right. When a parent's legal custody of their child is denied or terminated, there are serious, and irrevocable consequences for the entire family.
The intent of this Act is to appropriately protect the right of both parents and children to the integrity of the family unit by ensuring that the drastic remedy of denying or terminating parental legal custody is adequately justified. In particular, when a parent has not been determined to have committed family violence, there must be clear and convincing evidence to justify that custody should be denied, other than the court's preference of one parent over the other.
The purpose of this Act is to require the denial of joint custody to be based on specific findings and clear and convincing evidence.
SECTION 2. Section 571-46.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
"§571-46.1 Joint custody. (a) Upon the application of either parent, joint custody may be awarded in the discretion of the court. For the purpose of assisting the court in making a determination whether an award of joint custody is appropriate, the court shall, upon the request of either party, direct that an investigation be conducted pursuant to the provisions of section 571-46(4).
(b) In any actions for divorce, separation, annulment, separate maintenance, or any other proceeding where there is at issue a dispute as to the custody of a minor child, the court's denial of a parent's request for joint custody at any stage of the action shall not be valid or binding unless justified by specific findings and conclusions and clear and convincing evidence that joint custody is not in the best interests of the child; provided that if the court determines that family violence has been committed by the parent requesting joint custody, section 571-46(9) shall apply.
[(b)] (c) For the purposes of
this section, "joint custody" means an order awarding legal custody
of the minor child or children to both parents and providing that physical
custody shall be shared by the parents, pursuant to a parenting plan developed
pursuant to section 571-46.5, in such a way as to assure the child or children
of frequent, continuing, and meaningful contact with both parents; provided,
however, that such order may award joint legal custody without awarding joint
physical custody.
[(c)] (d) Any 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 interests of the
child require modification or termination of the order.
[(d)] (e) Any order for the
custody of the minor child or children of a marriage entered by a court in this
State or any other state may, subject to the jurisdictional requirements set
forth in sections 583A-201 to 583A-204, be modified at any time to an order of
joint custody in accordance with this section."
SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
|
INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
|
|
|