South Carolina General Assembly
115th Session, 2003-2004

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H. 3433

STATUS INFORMATION

General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Sinclair, Mahaffey and W.D. Smith
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11041ac03.doc

Introduced in the House on January 28, 2003
Currently residing in the House Committee on Judiciary

Summary: Court-ordered child contact for grandparents/others

HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS

     Date      Body   Action Description with journal page number
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   1/28/2003  House   Introduced and read first time HJ-35
   1/28/2003  House   Referred to Committee on Judiciary HJ-36
    2/5/2003  House   Member(s) request name removed as sponsor: Talley

View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site

VERSIONS OF THIS BILL

1/28/2003

(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 20-7-1558 SO AS TO ESTABLISH PROCEDURES AND CRITERIA FOR STANDING WHEREBY A GRANDPARENT OR ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL WITH A PARENT-LIKE RELATIONSHIP WITH A CHILD MAY PETITION THE FAMILY COURT TO OBTAIN COURT-ORDERED CONTACT WITH THE CHILD; TO ESTABLISH THE STANDARDS WHICH MUST BE SATISFIED FOR THE COURT TO GRANT CONTACT; AND TO AUTHORIZE THE AWARDING OF COSTS AND ATTORNEY'S FEES; AND TO AMEND SECTION 20-7-420, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE FAMILY COURT, SO AS TO CONFORM THE APPLICABLE PROVISIONS OF THAT SECTION TO SECTION 20-7-1558.

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

SECTION    1.    Subarticle 2, Article 11, Chapter 7, Title 20 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 20-7-1558.    (A)    A nonparent may initiate a court proceeding by filing a verified application to obtain court-ordered contact when all of the following are satisfied:

(1)    The applicant is either:

(a)    a grandparent with a significant relationship with the child; or

(b)    an individual with a parent-like relationship with the child. To satisfy this criterion, the applicant must show that:

(i)     his or her relationship with the child has been parental in nature for a substantial period of time; and

(ii)    a parent or custodian of the child consented to or allowed the formation and establishment of the relationship.

(2)    A parent or custodian has substantially interfered with the applicant's relationship with the child, and the applicant has unsuccessfully attempted to resolve any disagreement with the parent or custodian before going to court.

(3)    The applicant sought court-ordered contact within a reasonable time after the interference.

(B)(1)    The court shall treat standing as a threshold issue. The applicant bears the burden of establishing standing. If the applicant does not satisfy this burden, the proceeding must be dismissed.

(2)    Upon a finding that the applicant has standing, the applicant shall produce evidence to show that the child would suffer a serious loss if contact were not awarded. If the applicant presents evidence that could allow a reasonable fact finder to conclude that the child would suffer a serious loss, the burden shifts to the parent or custodian to present evidence why the decision to refuse contact is reasonable and in the best interests of the child.

(3)    The court shall order contact if it finds that the applicant has satisfied the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence that:

(a)    the child would suffer a serious loss if contact is not awarded; and

(b)    the parent's or custodian's denial of contact was unreasonable and not in the child's best interests.

(C)    If the court dismisses the proceeding for lack of standing, the court shall award reasonable and necessary costs and fees to the prevailing party unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise. In all other cases, the court may award such costs and fees as it considers appropriate.

(D)    For purposes of this section:

(1)    'Nonparent' includes a person not legally recognized as a parent whether or not related by blood or marriage.

(2)    'Contact' includes all court-ordered arrangements by which a nonparent is authorized to interact with a child other than custody, conservatorship, guardianship, or joint or shared custody.

(3)    'Parent-like relationship' means a very significant relationship between a nonparent and a child in which the nonparent undertook responsibilities and tasks commonly performed by parents and commonly recognized as actions by someone in a parent-like relationship. This usually means the nonparent has lived with the child in the same home for a significant period of time undertaking tasks of child-rearing commonly associated with parenting. This term does not include relationships with babysitters or other employed caregivers.

(4)    'Substantially interfered' means to have greatly diminished the amount and quality of contact a nonparent has had with a child. A reasonable reduction in the frequency or length of contact previously enjoyed with the child is not a 'substantial interference'.

(5)    'Applicant' means a nonparent who initiates a proceeding under this section."

SECTION     2.    Section 20-7-420(33) of the 1976 Code, as amended by Act 429 of 1994, is further amended to read:

"(33)    To order periods of visitation for the grandparents of a minor child where either or both parents of the minor child is or are deceased, or are divorced, or are living separate and apart in different habitats regardless of the existence of a court order or agreement, and upon a written finding that the visitation rights would be in the best interests of the child and would not interfere with the parent/child relationship. In determining whether to order visitation for the grandparents, the court shall consider the nature of the relationship between the child and his grandparents prior to the filing of the petition or complaint or an individual with a parent-like relationship with a child, in accordance with Section 20-7-1558."

SECTION    3.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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