HB 1189 – AS INTRODUCED

2008 SESSION

08-2184

05/09

HOUSE BILL 1189

AN ACT relative to the development and enforcement of the parenting plan.

SPONSORS: Rep. McRae, Hills 7; Rep. Matarazzo, Hills 20

COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law

ANALYSIS

This bill establishes special procedures in cases when the parents’ relationship is particularly acrimonious. In such cases, the court may require an evaluation by a qualified psychologist or may require that a neutral third party supervise the scheduled transfer of the child from one parent to the other.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

08-2184

05/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight

AN ACT relative to the development and enforcement of the parenting plan.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Parenting Schedule in High Conflict Cases. Amend RSA 461-A by inserting after section 4-a the following new section:

461-A:4-b Parenting Schedule in High Conflict Cases. The degree of acrimony between parents shall not be a determinant of the parenting schedule. Parental acrimony may only be used by the court to determine whether a supervised mechanism for transferring the children from one parent to the other is necessary, such as meeting at a third-party agency for that purpose. If the court is concerned about parental acrimony and its affect on the children, it shall order an evaluation by a qualified psychologist, the cost of which shall be borne equally by the 2 parents. The evaluator shall determine which parent is found to be the principal cause of the acrimony, and the court shall order that parent to bear the cost of using a third-party agency to transfer the children from one parent to the other, until such time as the agency is no longer needed, as evidenced by affidavits from the third-party agency. Chronic acrimony around scheduled transfers, as evidenced by affidavits, video tape, or other means, shall be grounds for reducing the custodial time of the parent principally responsible. In reaching its decisions, the court shall be guided by the policy that it is in the best interest of the child to foster civil relations between the child’s parents. The court shall not reward a parent for being acrimonious.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2009.