Senate Bill No. 213
(By Senator Rowe)
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[Introduced January 19, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §49-6-13, 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 with 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 the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated section §49-6-13, 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, is
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 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.
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