SF1191 Summary

• Revises best interests of the child standards for custody and parenting time determinations with 12 factors including child's needs, domestic abuse history, parental cooperation, and maximizing time with both parents; removes presumption based on primary caretaker status.

• Establishes rebuttable presumption that joint legal custody is in child's best interests upon request, except when domestic abuse has occurred; adds new factor regarding service members' deployment status.

• Enacts Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act (chapter 518E) allowing temporary custody arrangements during military deployment through parental agreements or court orders that automatically terminate upon return from deployment.

• Modifies child support, maintenance, and parenting time enforcement provisions including compensatory parenting time remedies, civil penalties up to $500 for violations, and attorney fee provisions; adds income tax dependency exemption allocation procedures.

• Makes technical changes to custody investigation reports, parenting time dispute resolution, and judgment interest calculations; allows alternative effective dates for maintenance and support orders by agreement.