BILL REQ. #:  S-0993.1 

Read first time 02/05/13.   Referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

     AN ACT Relating to family second chances; amending RCW 2.56.180 and 26.09.030; adding a new section to chapter 26.09 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   This act may be known and cited as the family second chances act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   Divorce causes poverty, juvenile delinquency, and lower scholastic achievement among children of our state. Even a modest reduction of divorce in our state could be beneficial to children. Empowering couples with education on nonadversarial approaches to divorce, reconciliation information and resources, and increasing the waiting period for a dissolution can be beneficial to families of our state.

Sec. 3   RCW 2.56.180 and 2007 c 496 s 202 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The administrative office of the courts shall 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 must be provided to each county auditor and each superior court. The handbook must be provided on the office's web site and may also be provided in videotape or other electronic form.
     (2) The handbook created under subsection (1) of this section shall be provided by the county auditor when an individual applies for a marriage license under RCW 26.04.140.
     (3)(a) The handbook created under subsection (1) of this section shall also be provided to the petitioner when he or she files a petition for dissolution, and to the respondent, unless the respondent did not file a response, notice of appearance, or any other paper in the case or did not appear in court. Pursuant to section 5 of this act, the administrative office of the courts must develop a method to allow parties to a dissolution proceeding to acknowledge that they have read and understood the handbook, and have the acknowledgment be reflected in the court record. Parties must be able to acknowledge that they have read and understood the handbook either on the office's web site or in writing.
     (b) The administrative office of the courts shall on an annual basis reimburse the counties for each copy of the handbook that is distributed directly to family law parties under this section, provided that the county submits documentation of the number of handbooks distributed on an annual basis.
     (4) The information contained in the handbook created under subsection (1) of this section shall 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;
     (k) Information on the option of reconciliation, including research on the interest in reconciliation among couples considering marriage dissolution, the potential benefits of avoiding marriage dissolution, resources to assist with reconciliation for interested couples, and information on the circumstances in which the risk of domestic violence should exclude consideration of reconciliation; and
     (l) Information on nonadversarial approaches to dissolution.
     (5) The language used in the handbook must be gender neutral.

Sec. 4   RCW 26.09.030 and 2008 c 6 s 1006 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) When a party who (((1))) (a) is a resident of this state, or (((2))) (b) is a member of the armed forces and is stationed in this state, or (((3))) (c) is married or in a domestic partnership to a party who is a resident of this state or who is a member of the armed forces and is stationed in this state, petitions for a dissolution of marriage or dissolution of domestic partnership, and alleges that the marriage or domestic partnership is irretrievably broken and when ((ninety days have)) one year has elapsed since the petition was filed and from the date when service of summons was made upon the respondent or the first publication of summons was made, the court shall proceed as follows:
     (((a))) (i) If the other party joins in the petition or does not deny that the marriage or domestic partnership is irretrievably broken, the court shall enter a decree of dissolution.
     (((b))) (ii) If the other party alleges that the petitioner was induced to file the petition by fraud, or coercion, the court shall make a finding as to that allegation and, if it so finds shall dismiss the petition.
     (((c))) (iii) If the other party denies that the marriage or domestic partnership is irretrievably broken the court shall consider all relevant factors, including the circumstances that gave rise to the filing of the petition and the prospects for reconciliation and shall:
     (((i))) (A) Make a finding that the marriage or domestic partnership is irretrievably broken and enter a decree of dissolution of the marriage or domestic partnership; or
     (((ii))) (B) At the request of either party or on its own motion, transfer the cause to the family court, refer them to another counseling service of their choice, and request a report back from the counseling service within sixty days, or continue the matter for not more than sixty days for hearing. If the cause is returned from the family court or at the adjourned hearing, the court shall:
     (((A))) (I) Find that the parties have agreed to reconciliation and dismiss the petition; or
     (((B))) (II) Find that the parties have not been reconciled, and that either party continues to allege that the marriage or domestic partnership is irretrievably broken. When such facts are found, the court shall enter a decree of dissolution of the marriage or domestic partnership.
     (((d))) (iv) If the petitioner requests the court to decree legal separation in lieu of dissolution, the court shall enter the decree in that form unless the other party objects and petitions for a decree of dissolution or declaration of invalidity.
     (((e))) (v) In considering a petition for dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership, a court shall not use a party's pregnancy as the sole basis for denying or delaying the entry of a decree of dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership. Granting a decree of dissolution of marriage or domestic partnership when a party is pregnant does not affect further proceedings under the uniform parentage act, chapter 26.26 RCW.
     (2) The one-year period described in subsection (1) of this section may be waived by the court when:
     (a) Either party was convicted during the marriage of a violent or sexual felony against the other party or a minor child; or
     (b) A court made a final, nonpreliminary civil protection order against either party, based on a final determination that he or she committed or threatened physical violence against the other party or a minor child of the divorce petitioner, where the respondent had advance notice and an opportunity to participate in an evidentiary hearing.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 26.09 RCW to read as follows:
     Parties to a dissolution proceeding must provide acknowledgment to the office of the administrator of the courts that they read and understood the family law handbook described in RCW 2.56.180 within ninety days of the filing of the petition for dissolution.