NY State Senate Bill 2023-S4797

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2024	referred to children and families
Feb 14, 2023	referred to children and families

co-Sponsors

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A4977
Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Domestic Relations Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §240, Dom Rel L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: A9819
2021-2022: S8186, A6085

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Establishes procedures for temporary custody orders that include a fifty-fifty rebuttable presumption that the parents shall have temporary joint legal and shared physical custody and shall share equal parenting time.

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S4797

SPONSOR: OBERACKER
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the domestic relations law, in relation to procedures
for certain temporary custody orders

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would provide for temporary custody orders permitting joint
custody, with 50/50 equal parenting time, as a starting point when fami-
lies separate.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of this legislation amends subdivision 1 of section 240 of
the domestic relations law by adding a new paragraph to establish tempo-
rary custody orders during family separation proceedings. It provides
that in the making of an order for temporary custody, there is a rebutt-
able presumption that parents have temporary joint legal and
shared,fifty-fifty, physical custody, maintaining equal parenting time.

This section contains additional explanations necessary for the imple-
mentation of this act.

Section two provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

There are few things more traumatic to a child than the separation of
their parents, no matter how amicable the event may be. It is at this
time that everyone involved should do all they can to keep that child's
life as intact as possible and not relegate one parent to the role of a
visitor. If the parents can no longer live together, the next best thing
is for the child to have equal time with each parent during this crucial
moment, when a child needs all the love, reassurance, and stability
possible.

As it stands now, custody/visitation cases can be continued for weeks or
even months and the child, under current custom, is oftentimes denied
the best of both parents while a judgement is determined. By setting a
rebuttable presumption of 50/50 shared parenting for temporary orders
(with room for exception if one parent is demonstrably unfit), it shifts
the starting point of any discussions to the child's best interest.

Barring exceptional circumstances, a child's right to both parents
should not be allowed to be used as leverage as they work out their
personal differences. Additionally, the child's love and need for both
parents did not diminish when the two adults decided to separate.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.8186/A6085 of 2022

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the State.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4797
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 14, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. OBERACKER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the domestic relations law, in relation to procedures
   for certain temporary custody orders
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 1 of section 240 of the domestic relations law
 is amended by adding a new paragraph (a-4) to read as follows:
   (A-4) PARENTING TIME; PRESUMPTIONS AND PROCEDURES FOR TEMPORARY CUSTO-
 DY ORDERS.  (1) A PARTY TO A CUSTODY PROCEEDING MAY MOVE FOR A TEMPORARY
 CUSTODY ORDER. THE MOTION MUST BE SUPPORTED BY A PETITION. THE COURT MAY
 AWARD TEMPORARY CUSTODY PURSUANT TO THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THIS  PARAGRAPH
 AFTER  A  HEARING,  OR, IF THERE IS NO OBJECTION, SOLELY ON THE BASIS OF
 THE PETITIONS. IF THE PARENTS OR A PERSON ACTING AS A PARENT, AS DEFINED
 IN SECTION SEVENTY-FIVE-A OF THIS CHAPTER, PRESENT A  TEMPORARY  CUSTODY
 AGREEMENT  AND  MUTUALLY  AGREED  PLAN FOR PARENTING TIME, AND THE COURT
 CONFIRMS THAT THE AGREEMENT ADEQUATELY PROVIDES FOR THE WELFARE  OF  THE
 CHILD,  SUCH  AGREEMENT  SHALL BECOME THE TEMPORARY CUSTODY ORDER OF THE
 COURT.
   (2) IN MAKING AN  ORDER  FOR  TEMPORARY  CUSTODY,  THERE  SHALL  BE  A
 PRESUMPTION,  REBUTTABLE  BY  CLEAR  AND  CONVINCING  EVIDENCE, THAT THE
 PARENTS OR A PERSON ACTING AS A PARENT SHALL HAVE TEMPORARY JOINT  LEGAL
 AND  SHARED  PHYSICAL  CUSTODY  AND SHALL SHARE EQUAL PARENTING TIME. AS
 USED IN THIS PARAGRAPH, THE TERM "PARENTING TIME" SHALL MEAN THE  PERIOD
 OF  TIME  THAT  A  PARENT  MAY SPEND WITH HIS OR HER CHILD PURSUANT TO A
 COURT ORDER UNDER THIS  CHAPTER,  THE  FAMILY  COURT  ACT  OR  AN  ORDER
 ENFORCED UNDER ARTICLE FIVE-A OF THIS CHAPTER.
   (3) IF A DEVIATION FROM EQUAL PARENTING TIME IS WARRANTED, THE PARENTS
 OR  PERSON  ACTING AS A PARENT, THROUGH MUTUAL AND AGREED UPON CONSIDER-
 ATIONS OR MEDIATION, SHALL CONSTRUCT A  PARENTING  TIME  SCHEDULE  WHICH
 MAXIMIZES THE TIME EACH PARENT OR PERSON ACTING AS A PARENT HAS WITH THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03618-02-3

 S. 4797                             2
 
 CHILD  AND IS CONSISTENT WITH ENSURING THE CHILD'S WELFARE. IN THE EVENT
 THAT THE PARENTS OR PERSON ACTING AS A PARENT CANNOT AGREE ON A  PARENT-
 ING  SCHEDULE  DEVIATING  FROM  EQUAL  PARENTING  TIME,  THE COURT SHALL
 CONSTRUCT A PARENTING TIME SCHEDULE WHICH MAXIMIZES THE TIME EACH PARENT
 OR  PERSON  ACTING AS A PARENT HAS WITH THE CHILD AND IS CONSISTENT WITH
 ENSURING SUCH CHILD'S WELFARE.
   (4) EACH TEMPORARY CUSTODY ORDER SHALL INCLUDE  SPECIFIC  FINDINGS  OF
 FACT  AND  CONCLUSIONS OF LAW, EXCEPT WHEN THE COURT CONFIRMS THE AGREE-
 MENT OF THE PARTIES.
   (5) ANY TEMPORARY CUSTODY ORDER  SHALL  ADDRESS  THE  CIRCUMSTANCE  IN
 WHICH  THE  CHILD  WILL  TRANSFER  FROM ONE PARENT OR PERSON ACTING AS A
 PARENT TO THE OTHER.
   (6) MODIFICATION OF A TEMPORARY CUSTODY ORDER MAY BE SOUGHT WHEN THERE
 IS A MATERIAL AND SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN THE CIRCUMSTANCE OF THE PARENTS,
 PERSON ACTING AS A PARENT, OR CHILD.
   (7) IF A PROCEEDING TO ANNUL A MARRIAGE, TO DECLARE THE NULLITY  OF  A
 VOID  MARRIAGE,  FOR  A  SEPARATION  OR  FOR A DIVORCE IS DISMISSED, ANY
 TEMPORARY CUSTODY ORDER SHALL BE  VACATED  UNLESS  A  PARENT  OR  PERSON
 ACTING  AS  A  PARENT  MOVES  THAT  THE PROCEEDING CONTINUE AS A CUSTODY
 PROCEEDING AND THE COURT FINDS, AFTER A HEARING, THAT THE  CIRCUMSTANCES
 OF  THE  PARENTS  OR PERSON ACTING AS A PARENT AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF
 THE CHILD REQUIRE THAT A CUSTODY DECREE BE ISSUED.
   (8) IF A CUSTODY PROCEEDING COMMENCED IN THE ABSENCE OF  A  PROCEEDING
 TO  ANNUL  A  MARRIAGE, TO DECLARE THE NULLITY OF A VOID MARRIAGE, FOR A
 SEPARATION OR FOR A DIVORCE IS DISMISSED, ANY  TEMPORARY  CUSTODY  ORDER
 SHALL BE VACATED.
   (9)  IF  A  COURT  DETERMINES  BY CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE THAT A
 PERSON IS A PERSON WHO IS ACTING AS A PARENT, THE COURT SHALL JOIN  SUCH
 PERSON  IN  ANY ACTION PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS PARAGRAPH AS A
 PARTY NEEDED FOR JUST ADJUDICATION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

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Senate Bill S4797

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

co-Sponsors

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S4797

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Sponsored By

Peter Oberacker

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

co-Sponsors

Jacob Ashby

George M. Borrello

Pamela Helming

Steven D. Rhoads

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Details

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2023-S4797 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments