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IN SB0027
Bill
Status
1/3/2017
Primary Sponsor
Lonnie Randolph
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AI Summary
SB 27 Summary
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Expands visitation rights to include great-grandparents and allows grandparents or great-grandparents to seek visitation if they had meaningful contact with a child but the parent terminated visits due to estrangement.
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Establishes court factors for determining best interests of the child in grandparent or great-grandparent visitation cases, including the child's age, wishes (with more weight given if child is at least 14 years old), interaction with relatives, and evidence of domestic violence.
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Allows courts to order parties in visitation actions to pay reasonable costs for maintaining or defending the action, including attorney's fees and mediation expenses.
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Exempts certain agencies authorized under Title IV-D of the federal Social Security Act from being required to pay costs or attorney's fees in these proceedings.
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Becomes effective upon passage.
Legislative Description
Grandparent and great-grandparent visitation. Allows great-grandparents to seek visitation rights with their great-grandchildren in certain circumstances. Allows a grandparent or great-grandparent to seek visitation if the grandparent or great-grandparent has had meaningful contact with the child but, as a result of an estrangement between the parent of the child and the grandparent or great-grandparent, the parent of the child terminated the child's visits with the grandparent or great-grandparent. Establishes factors for the court to consider in determining whether granting a grandparent or great-grandparent visitation rights is in the best interests of the child. Provides that a court may order a
Last Action
Senator Zay added as second author
1/30/2017