Senate Bill No. 579
(By Senator Rowe)
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[Introduced February 17, 2003; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend article six, chapter forty-nine of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated section thirteen,
relating to
petitions for changes of custody when a
caretaker-relative has temporary parental custody of a related
child or children;
providing a presumption to continue custody
in a caretaker-relative when a change of custody petition is
sought
as being in the best interest of the child or children
when the
caretaker-relative with temporary parental custody of
a related child or children has had custody of the child or
children for at least eight of the last twelve months
preceding the petition filing date; and providing that a
caretaker-relative continues to have temporary custody until
the end of the school year when a change of custody petition
has been granted during the school year unless shown to do so would not be in the best interest of the child or children.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article six, chapter forty-nine of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section
thirteen, to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. PROCEDURE IN CASES OF CHILD NEGLECT OR ABUSE.
§49-6-13. Change of custody petitions when caretaker-relative has
temporary parental custody of a related child or
children; presumption.
(a) A caretaker-relative who has assumed temporary parental
custody in his or her home of a related minor child or children
,
shall be presumed to be fit to continue in such custody as being in
the best interest of the child or children, in any proceeding to
change custody when the caretaker-relative has had custody for at
least eight of the twelve months next immediately preceding the
filing of the action to change of custody of the child or children.
(b) The caretaker-relative shall continue to have such
temporary custody of any child or children until the end of any
applicable school term of the minor child or any of the minor
children of a related group of children in the custody of the same
caretaker-relative when a change of custody is ordered unless
specific findings of fact are made that the custody of the child or
children should be changed earlier in the best interest of a child or children.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide a presumption
to continue custody in a caretaker-relative, when a change of
custody petition is sought,
as being in the best interest of the
child or children when the
caretaker-relative with temporary
parental custody of a related child or children has had custody of
the child or children for at least eight of the last twelve months
preceding the petition filing date; and to provide that a
caretaker-relative continues to have temporary custody until the
end of the school year when a change of custody petition has been
granted unless shown to do so would not be in the best interest of
the child or children.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.