Source: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2406%20intr.htm&yr=2011&sesstype=RS&i=2406
Timestamp: 2018-03-18 03:14:29
Document Index: 331335406

Matched Legal Cases: ['§44', '§48', '§48', '§48', '§44', '§48', '§48', '§48']

HB 2406 Text
Introduced Version House Bill 2406 History
H. B. 2406
(By Delegates Miley, Caputo, Fragale,
Iaquinta, Longstreth and Marshall)
A BILL to amend and reenact §44-10-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; and to amend and reenact §48-9-205, §48-9-206 and §48-9-402 of said code, all relating to the designation of a primary guardian for a minor child; modifying the minor's right to nominate a guardian; increasing the age of nomination from fourteen to sixteen; providing for the consideration of minor's preference in parenting plan; expanding the period of consideration regarding the parents' comparative caretaking and other parenting responsibilities.
That §44-10-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; and that §48-9-205, §48-9-206 and §48-9-402 of said code be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
(a) If the minor is above the age of fourteen sixteen years, he or she may in the presence of the circuit or family court, or in writing acknowledged before any officer authorized to take the acknowledgment of a deed, nominate his or her own guardian, who, if approved by the court, shall be appointed accordingly.
(b) If the guardian nominated by the minor is not appointed by the court, or if the minor resides outside the state, or if, after being summoned, the minor neglects to nominate a suitable person, the court may appoint the guardian in the same manner as if the minor were under the age of fourteen sixteen years.
(1) The name, address and length of residence of any adults with whom the child has lived for one year or more, or in the case of a child less than one year old, any adults with whom the child has lived since the child’s birth;
(2) The name and address of each of the child’s parents and any other individuals with standing to participate in the action under section one hundred three of this article;
(a) Unless otherwise resolved by agreement of the parents under section two hundred one of this article or unless manifestly harmful to the child, the court shall allocate custodial responsibility so that the proportion of custodial time the child spends with each parent approximates the proportion of time each parent spent performing caretaking functions for the child prior to the parents’ separation or, if the parents never lived together, before the filing of the action, except to the extent required under section two hundred nine of this article or necessary to achieve any of the following objectives:
(2) To accommodate the firm and reasonable preferences of a child who is fourteen sixteen years of age or older, and with regard to a child under fourteen sixteen years of age, but sufficiently matured that he or she can intelligently express a voluntary preference for one parent, to give that preference such weight as circumstances warrant;
(c) If the court is unable to allocate custodial responsibility under subsection (a) of this section because the allocation under that subsection would be manifestly harmful to the child, or because there is no history of past performance of caretaking functions, as in the case of a newborn, or because the history does not establish a pattern of caretaking sufficiently dispositive of the issues of the case, the court shall allocate custodial responsibility based on the child’s best interest, taking into account the factors in considerations that are set forth in this section and in section two hundred nine and subsection (d), section four hundred three of this article and preserving to the extent possible this section’s priority on the share of past caretaking functions each parent performed.
(b) The court may modify any provisions of the parenting plan without the showing of change circumstances required by subsection (a), section four hundred one of this article if the modification is in the child’s best interests, and the modification:
(3) Is necessary to accommodate the reasonable and firm preferences of a child who has attained the age of fourteen sixteen.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the age at which a minor may nominate a guardian, from fourteen to sixteen and to expand the period of consideration regarding the parents' comparative caretaking and other parenting responsibilities.