New Custody Statutes in Place

In my September 14, 2012, blog, I set out, in some detail, the changes that were coming with regard to the custody statutes. They have now arrived, and while still very early, some issues are being clarified. One of the issues in the September 14, 2012, blog, was the issue of “personal care decisions”. It appears that there is now discussion that same mean life altering type of personal care decisions, that could be made by the sole legal decision maker (the old sole custody order) or jointly if there is a joint legal decision making (the old joint custody orders) in place. There seems to be some consensus that this does not mean “routine” day to day type personal care decisions by one parent during his or her parenting time with the child. It is suggested that permanent tattoos, piercings, and maybe even significant haircuts are not routine.

It must also be noted that the new statute states that each parent, when that parent has parenting time, is responsible for providing the child with food, clothing, and shelter. This should eliminate the arguments about whether or not one parent must provide clothing to the other parent during the other parent’s parenting time.

There also appears to be a consensus that the current statutes, as written, do not mandate equal parenting time or something close to equal parenting time. The issue of parenting time must be decided on a case by case basis.

It must be noted that there is uncertainty in the legal community, at this time, as to whether or not the changes to the “custody” statute(s) are significant or are just changing the names. Only time will tell.

As events develop, and more information is gathered regarding the new statutes, I will post them in future blogs.