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Senate Study Bill 92

Conference Committee Text

PAG LIN
  1  1    Section 1.  Section 598.1, Code 1995, is amended by adding
  1  2 the following new subsection:
  1  3    NEW SUBSECTION.  2A.  "Joint legal custody" or "joint
  1  4 custody" means an award of the rights of legal custody to both
  1  5 parents jointly under which both parents have legal custodial
  1  6 rights and responsibilities toward the child and under which
  1  7 neither parent has legal custodial rights superior to those of
  1  8 the other parent.  Rights and responsibilities as a joint
  1  9 legal custodial parent include, but are not limited to, equal
  1 10 participation in decisions affecting the child's legal status,
  1 11 medical care, education, extracurricular activities, third-
  1 12 party child care, and religious instruction.
  1 13    Sec. 2.  Section 598.1, subsection 3, Code 1995, is amended
  1 14 to read as follows:
  1 15    3.  "Joint custody physical care" or "joint legal custody"
  1 16 means an award of custody physical care of a minor child to
  1 17 both joint legal custodial parents under which both parents
  1 18 have rights and responsibilities toward the child, including
  1 19 but not limited to shared parenting time and under which
  1 20 neither parent has rights superior to those of the other
  1 21 parent.  The court may award physical care to one parent only.
  1 22    Sec. 3.  Section 598.1, subsection 5, Code 1995, is amended
  1 23 to read as follows:
  1 24    5.  "Physical care" means the right and responsibility to
  1 25 maintain the principal home of the minor child and provide for
  1 26 the routine care of the child.
  1 27    Sec. 4.  Section 598.41, subsection 5, Code 1995, is
  1 28 amended to read as follows:
  1 29    5.  Joint legal custody does not require joint physical
  1 30 care.  When If the court determines such action would be in
  1 31 the best interest of preserve the relationship between each
  1 32 parent and the child, joint physical care may be given awarded
  1 33 to both joint custodial parents or physical care may be
  1 34 awarded to one joint custodial parent and not to the other.
  1 35 If one joint custodial parent is awarded physical care, the
  2  1 court shall hold that parent responsible for providing for the
  2  2 best interest of supporting the other parent's relationship
  2  3 with the child.  However, physical Physical care given awarded
  2  4 to one parent does not affect the other parent's rights and
  2  5 responsibilities as a joint legal custodian of the child.
  2  6 Rights and responsibilities as legal custodian of the child
  2  7 include, but are not limited to, equal participation in
  2  8 decisions affecting the child's legal status, medical care,
  2  9 education, extracurricular activities, and religious
  2 10 instruction.  
  2 11                           EXPLANATION
  2 12    This bill amends sections of the Code relating to the
  2 13 awarding of joint custody of children in a dissolution of
  2 14 marriage context and specifically in the awarding of joint
  2 15 physical care.  The bill redefines "joint legal custody" to
  2 16 include rights and responsibilities connected to third-party
  2 17 child care decisions.  The bill also defines "joint physical
  2 18 care" and provides that the court may award physical care to
  2 19 one parent or may award joint physical care to both parents.
  2 20 The bill provides that if the court determines that awarding
  2 21 of joint physical care would preserve the relationship between
  2 22 each parent and the child, the court may award physical care
  2 23 to both or only one joint custodial parent.  If only one
  2 24 parent is awarded physical care of the child, the parent
  2 25 awarded physical care is responsible for supporting the other
  2 26 parent's relationship with the child.  If parents are awarded
  2 27 joint physical care, neither parent has rights superior to
  2 28 those of the other parent.  If only one parent is awarded
  2 29 physical care, the award does not affect the rights and
  2 30 responsibilities of the other parent as a joint legal
  2 31 custodian.  
  2 32 LSB 1902SC 76
  2 33 pf/sc/14
     
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