The Senate Judiciary Committee heard Sen. Head’s SB 292 on notice and hearings on child relocation. The bill provides the following:
- Changes certain procedures governing the relocation of a child in cases in which custody orders are issued following a determination of paternity and in cases heard under statutes governing custody and visitation
- Requires parties to share certain contact information unless a court finds that disclosure of the information creates a significant risk of substantial harm to an individual otherwise required to disclose the information or to the child
- Requires a relocating individual to serve a notice of intent to move on interested parties under the Indiana Rules of Trial Procedure. (Current law requires a relocating individual to send a copy of the notice to nonrelocating individuals.)
- Specifies circumstances in which a relocating individual is not required to file a notice of intent to move
- Requires a relocating individual and the nonrelocating individual to participate in mediation or another alternative dispute resolution process unless participation in an alternative dispute resolution process is waived by the court upon the motion of the relocating individual or a nonrelocating individual
- Specifies information that must be included in the notice of intent to move.
- Requires a nonrelocating individual served with a notice of intent to move to file a response unless the parties have executed and filed with the court a written agreement resolving all issues related to custody, parenting time, grandparent visitation, and child support resulting from the relocation of the child
- Specifies the information that must be included in the response
- Allows a response to be filed without objecting to the relocation of a child
- Specifies the motions that may be filed with the response in objection to the relocation of a child
The bill was amended by consent to remove the requirement that an individual seeking custody, parenting time, or grandparent visitation with a child disclose the individual’s work address and require that a written agreement resolving all issues related to custody, parenting time, grandparent visitation, and child support resulting from the relocation of a child must include a child support worksheet signed by the parties, if the agreement results in a modification of support. The Indiana State Bar Association and the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council testified in support of the bill. The amended bill passed 8-2.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2019/bills/senate/292