BILL REQ. #:  S-1596.1 

Read first time 02/26/2003.   Referred to Committee on Children & Family Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to correcting a technical error to clarify that the family law handbook shall be provided when a person applies for a marriage license; and amending RCW 2.56.180.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 2.56.180 and 2002 c 49 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The administrator for the courts will create a handbook explaining the sections of Washington law pertaining to the rights and responsibilities of marital partners to each other and to any children during a marriage and a dissolution of marriage. The handbook may also be provided in videotape or other electronic form.
     (2) The handbook created under subsection (1) of this section will be provided by the county auditor when an individual ((files a marriage certificate under RCW 26.04.090)) applies for a marriage license under RCW 26.04.140.
     (3) The information contained in the handbook created under subsection (1) of this section will be reviewed and updated annually. The handbook must contain the following information:
     (a) Information on prenuptial agreements as contracts and as a means of structuring financial arrangements and other aspects of the marital relationship;
     (b) Information on shared parental responsibility for children, including establishing a residential schedule for the child in the event of the dissolution of the marriage;
     (c) Information on notice requirements and standards for parental relocation;
     (d) Information on child support for minor children;
     (e) Information on property rights, including equitable distribution of assets and premarital and postmarital property rights;
     (f) Information on spousal maintenance;
     (g) Information on domestic violence, child abuse, and neglect, including penalties;
     (h) Information on the court process for dissolution;
     (i) Information on the effects of dissolution on children;
     (j) Information on community resources that are available to separating or divorcing persons and their children.