PRINTER'S NO. 4263

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

No. 2825 Session of 2002

        INTRODUCED BY ROBERTS, BELFANTI, BISHOP, BROWNE, BUNT,
           CREIGHTON, CRUZ, DALEY, GEORGE, HORSEY, JAMES, MELIO,
           PISTELLA, READSHAW, SHANER, B. SMITH, STABACK, E. Z. TAYLOR,
           TIGUE, WALKO, YOUNGBLOOD AND YUDICHAK, SEPTEMBER 3, 2002

        REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2002

                                     AN ACT

     1  Amending Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania
     2     Consolidated Statutes, further providing for declaration of
     3     policy and for partial custody or visitation rights for
     4     grandparent.

     5     The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
     6  hereby enacts as follows:
     7     Section 1.  Sections 5301 and 5311 of Title 23 of the
     8  Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes are amended to read:
     9  § 5301.  Declaration of policy.
    10     The General Assembly declares that it is the public policy of
    11  this Commonwealth, when in the best interest of the child, to
    12  assure a reasonable and continuing contact of the child with
    13  both parents after a separation or dissolution of the marriage
    14  and the sharing of the rights and responsibilities of child
    15  rearing by both parents and continuing contact of the child or
    16  children with grandparents when [a parent is deceased, divorced
    17  or separated] continuing contact is in the best interest of the
    18  child and it does not adversely affect the parent-child

     1  relationship.
     2  § 5311.  [When parent deceased] Grandparent.
     3     [If a parent of an unmarried child is deceased, the parents
     4  or grandparents of the deceased parent] A grandparent may be
     5  granted reasonable partial custody or visitation rights, or
     6  both, to [the] an unmarried minor child by the court upon a
     7  finding that partial custody or visitation rights, or both,
     8  would be in the best interest of the child and would not
     9  interfere with the parent-child relationship. The court shall
    10  consider the amount of personal contact between the [parents or]
    11  grandparents [of the deceased parent] and the child prior to the
    12  application.
    13     Section 2.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.












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