South Carolina General Assembly
116th Session, 2005-2006

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Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

S. 159

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Senator Elliott
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11068ac05.doc

Introduced in the Senate on January 11, 2005
Currently residing in the Senate Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Court ordered joint custody means child has legal residence with each parent

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
  12/15/2004  Senate  Prefiled
  12/15/2004  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary
   1/11/2005  Senate  Introduced and read first time SJ-157
   1/11/2005  Senate  Referred to Committee on Judiciary SJ-157
    2/4/2005  Senate  Referred to Subcommittee: Ritchie (ch), Rankin, Lourie, 
                        Scott

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

12/15/2004

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING SECTION 20-7-1525 SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT IF JOINT CUSTODY OF A CHILD IS ORDERED BY THE COURT THE CHILD HAS A LEGAL RESIDENCE WITH EACH PARENT AND TO PROHIBIT EITHER PARENT FROM CHANGING THE CHILD'S LEGAL RESIDENCE TO A LOCATION MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED MILES FROM THE CHILD'S LEGAL RESIDENCE WITH THE OTHER PARENT, TO AUTHORIZE THE COURT TO ALLOW A CHANGE IN THE CHILD'S LEGAL RESIDENCE UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES, AND TO PROVIDE EXCEPTIONS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Chapter 7, Title 20 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 20-7-1525.    (A)    For the purposes of this section, a child who is in the joint legal custody of both parents pursuant to an order of the court has a legal residence with each parent. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a parent may not change the legal residence of the child to a location that is more than one hundred miles from the child's legal residence with the other parent, according to the location of the legal residence at the time of the commencement of the action in which the joint custody order was issued. However, a parent may change the child's legal residence if the other parent consents in writing and this is provided for in a consent order of the court, or if the court, after complying with subsection (C), permits the residence change.

(B)    This section does not apply if:

(1)    at the time of the commencement of the action in which the joint custody order is issued, the child's two residences were more than one hundred miles apart; or

(2)    the legal residence change results in the child's two legal residences being closer to each other than before the change.

(C)    Notwithstanding subsection (A), the court may order the change of a child's legal residence prohibited by subsection (A) if the court considers each of these factors, with the best interest of the child as the primary focus in the court's deliberations:

(1)    whether the legal residence change has the capacity to improve the quality of life for both the child and the relocating parent;

(2)    the degree to which each parent has complied with, and utilized his or her time under, a court order governing parenting time with the child, and whether the parent's plan to change the child's legal residence is inspired by that parent's desire to defeat or frustrate the parenting time schedule;

(3)    the degree to which the court is satisfied that, if the court permits the legal residence change, it is possible to order a modification of the parenting time schedule and other arrangements governing the child's schedule in a manner that can provide an adequate basis for preserving and fostering the parental relationship between the child and each parent and whether each parent is likely to comply with the modification;

(4)    the extent to which the parent opposing the legal residence change is motivated by a desire to secure a financial advantage with respect to a support obligation;

(5)    domestic violence, regardless of whether the violence was directed against or witnessed by the child.

(D)    An order determining or modifying custody or parenting time of a child shall include a provision stating the parent's agreement as to how a change in either of the child's legal residences will be handled. If this provision is included in the order and a child's legal residence change is done in compliance with that provision, this section does not apply. However, if the parents do not reach an agreement on such a provision, the court shall include in the order the following provision: 'A parent whose custody or parenting time of a child is governed by this order shall not change the legal residence of the child except in compliance with Section 20-7-1525'.

(E)    If this section applies to a change of a child's legal residence and the parent seeking to change the legal residence needs to seek a safe location from the threat of domestic violence, the parent may move to a safe location with the child until the court makes a determination under this section."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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