Legislative Session number- 84

Bill Name: SF0987

Relating to family law; reforming and recodifying the law relating to marriage
dissolution, child custody and support, spousal maintenance and property
division

ARTICLE 1 - MARRIAGE DISSOLUTION, LEGAL SEPARATION AND
ANNULMENT

Imposing a marital dissolution fee to be collected by district court
administrators; providing for enforcement of maintenance payment requirements;
making certain technical and clarifying corrections; removing provisions
relating to the payment or modification of child support and specifying certain
renumbering and cross reference correction instructions to the revisor of
statutes for recodification purposes; repealing certain provisions relating to
recovery of certain child support enforcement costs, security, sequestration and
contempt, child support controlling order determination, the awarding of
temporary maintenance and support, the continuation of child support after death
of the obligor, automatic termination of support upon emancipation and a certain
child support modification form and notice requirements

ARTICLE 2 - CUSTODY,
PARENTING TIME AND VISITATION

Providing for temporary orders for custody and
parenting time; specifying certain custody or parenting time notice
requirements; providing for the awarding of attorney fees, costs and
disbursements; providing for child custody orders, requiring court consideration
of best interests of the child in determining custody, prohibiting parent
preference, specifying certain factors to be considered in determining best
interests; providing for joint custody, specifying certain factors and
presumptions; specifying the access rights of parents; clarifying certain
custody provisions under marriage dissolution proceedings; specifying certain
renumbering and cross reference correction instructions to the revisor of
statutes for recodification purposes

ARTICLE 3 - CHILD SUPPORT

"Minnesota
Child Support Act"; defining certain terms; specifying certain requirements and
preferences for child support orders, authorizing departure from certain
presumptions under certain conditions; providing for temporary child support
orders; providing for determination of the controlling order in cases of the
existence of more than one order; providing for court award of attorney fees,
costs and disbursements; providing for the exchange of certain information
between the parties, specifying certain documentation requirements; providing
for the protection of certain personal information; defining income for child
support determination purposes, specifying certain exclusions; providing for the
determination of imputed income under certain conditions; providing for
presumptive child support orders; providing a basic support computation
schedule, parenting time adjustment; providing for the determination of child
care and medical support, requiring ex-spousal medical coverage under certain
conditions, imposing certain responsibilities on employers, unions and obligors,
providing a self support adjustment; requiring the commissioner of human
services to create and publish a worksheet to assist in calculating child
support, requiring annual adjustments; specifying certain factors to be
considered by the court in determining whether or not to deviate from the
presumptive guidelines; requiring written findings; requiring department of
human services periodic guidelines review; authorizing the parties to agree to
establish a trust fund for post-secondary education costs; specifying certain
requirements for court modification of child support orders; authorizing the
court to rescind child support orders or judgments and order a new trial or
grant other relief under certain conditions; providing for changes in custody or
parenting time and for termination of child support under certain conditions;
requiring and providing for cost of living adjustments to child support orders;
providing for the assignment of child support payments to public authorities
responsible for collection in public assistance cases, authorizing and providing
for public authority child support collections in other cases, granting public
authorities certain administrative authority relating to the establishment of
paternity and to the establishment, modification or enforcement of child support
orders, providing for the imposition of service fees and for preparation and
filing of case information sheets; providing for the sharing of certain
information; requiring the commissioner of human services to create and maintain
a central collections unit to receive, process and disburse child support
payments and to maintain payment records, providing for mandatory payments to
the unit; regulating the withholding of income for child support orders
compliance or arrearages payment purposes, providing for certain lump sum
payments, authorizing contempt actions against employers for failure to comply
with withholding requirements; providing for the establishment of child support
deposit or escrow accounts in financial institutions; providing for the
appointment of trustees under certain conditions; providing for the treatment of
overpayments; requiring and providing for the independence of child support and
parenting time; providing for arrearage payment agreements; providing for
certain obligor employment or community service orders under certain conditions;
providing for contempt proceedings and drivers, occupational or recreational
license suspension and motor vehicle liens for nonpayment of support; providing
for the publication of names of delinquent child support obligors; specifying
certain case reviewer availability requirements; providing for child support
obligee entitlement to recovery of reasonable attorney fees and other collection
costs incurred to enforce child support judgments; providing for the form of
certain required notices; requiring the commissioner of human services to
request the university of Minnesota or another university in the Minnesota state
colleges and universities (MnSCU) system to conduct an analysis of the child
support guidelines; appropriating money to the commissioner of human services
and the supreme court administrator to fund implementation, requiring the
commissioner to devise an equitable system to reimburse counties for
implementation costs, setting an appropriation base for fiscal year 2007 for
grants to counties; specifying certain cross reference correction instructions
to the revisor of statutes; repealing certain existing provisions providing for
child and medical support
(ra)