HB 1657-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
05/09
HOUSE BILL 1657-FN
AN ACT relative to petitions for guardianship filed by parents of adult children with disabilities.
This bill requires the court to waive the filing fee for a guardianship petition filed by the parent of an adult child with disabilities.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2707
05/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to petitions for guardianship filed by parents of adult children with disabilities.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Guardianship; Procedure for Court Appointment of a Guardian of an Incapacitated Person. Amend RSA 464-A:4 by inserting after paragraph V the following new paragraph:
VI. If the petition for the appointment of a guardian of an incapacitated person is filed by the parent of the proposed ward, the court shall waive any fee required to file the petition under this section.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
12-2707
12/23/11
HB 1657-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to petitions for guardianship filed by parents of adult children with disabilities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Judicial Branch estimates this bill will decrease state revenue by $13,500 in FY 2013 and in each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on county or local revenues, or state, county or local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Judicial Branch states the proposed bill would require the probate division of the circuit court to waive the filing fee for a guardianship petition filed by the parent of a disabled adult. The Branch states it receives about 1,000 petitions for guardianship of adults each year and estimates about 100 of the cases involve a parent seeking guardianship of an adult disabled son or daughter. According to Judicial Branch accounting records, filing fees are currently waived for 25 of the cases. The Branch states the current filing fee is $155 plus a $25 surcharge which is deposited in the state general fund. Pursuant to RSA 490:26-c, seven percent of the filing fee is deposited in the court facilities escrow fund and pursuant to RSA 490:26-h, 14% of the filing fee is deposited in the judicial branch information technology fund. The Branch assumed an effective date of July 1, 2012, constant volume of cases through FY 2016, and calculated the fiscal impact as follows:
• Annual petitions for guardianship of adults = 1,000.
• 10% are parents seeking guardian ship of adult children = 100.
• Cases for which fees are not currently being waived = 75.
• Filing fees of $155 plus surcharge of $25 = $180.
• Decrease in total state revenue (75 x $180) = $13,500.
• Decrease in revenue to the court facilities escrow fund = $814.
(75 cases x $155 filing fee x 7%)
• Decrease in revenue to the judicial branch information technology fund = $1,627.
(75 cases x $155 filing fee x 14%)
• Decrease in state general fund revenue = $11,059.
($13,500 - $1,627 - $814 = 11,059)
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill will have no fiscal impact on the Department’s budget. The Department indicates it does not pay for filing fees when the parent is the petitioner, nor does the department reimburse a parent for those costs.