Introduced
by
To establish a rebuttable presumption in child custody disputes that joint custody is in the best interest of the child. If a parent seeks to rebut the presumption, the court would presume that the "best interest of the child" factors listed in the state Child Custody Act would apply evenly to each parent, unless proven otherwise. Such proof would include, but not be limited to, things like child abuse or domestic violence. If parents could not agree to a shared parenting plan, the court would be required to impose one which gives each parent specific and substantially equal periods of custody. If one parent refused to cooperate with the other on parenting decisions for no good reason, a court could award sole custody to the other parent.
Referred to the Committee on Civil Law and the Judiciary
