THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY BAKER, PILEGGI, ROBBINS, FARNESE, WARD, WASHINGTON, ALLOWAY, BOSCOLA, BRUBAKER, COSTA, ERICKSON, FERLO, FOLMER, FONTANA, MUSTO, MENSCH, O'PAKE, ORIE, PIPPY, RAFFERTY, STOUT, M. WHITE, WILLIAMS AND TOMLINSON, FEBRUARY 8, 2010

SENATOR GREENLEAF, JUDICIARY, AS AMENDED, APRIL 13, 2010   

AN ACT

Amending Title Titles 23 (Domestic Relations) and 51 (Military

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Affairs) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further

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providing for modification of existing support orders; and 

providing for assignment of custody and visitation rights

during military deployment.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Title 51 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated

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Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:

Section 1.  Section 5310 of Title 23 of the Pennsylvania

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Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:

§ 5310.  Modification of existing custody orders.

Except as provided in 51 Pa.C.S. [§ 4109] §§ 4109 (relating

to child custody proceedings during military deployment) and

4110 (relating to assignment of custody and visitation rights

during military deployment), any order for the custody of the

child of a marriage entered by a court in this Commonwealth or

any state may, subject to the jurisdictional requirements set

forth in Chapter 54 (relating to uniform child custody

jurisdiction and enforcement), be modified at any time to an

order of shared custody in accordance with this subchapter.

Section 2.  Title 51 is amended by adding a section to read:

§ 4110.  Assignment of custody and visitation rights during

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military deployment.

(a)  Petition.--If an eligible servicemember has received

notice of deployment in support of a contingency operation, the

servicemember may petition the court for a modification to an

order granting the servicemember custody or visitation with a

child under 23 Pa.C.S. § 5302 (relating to definitions). The

modification may include a temporary assignment of the eligible

servicemember's custody or visitation rights to one or more

legal or biological relatives. The eligible servicemember shall

be joined in the petition by the relatives to whom the

servicemember is seeking to assign these rights. The petition

shall include a proposed custody or visitation schedule with the

relatives and the schedule shall not exceed the time granted to

the eligible servicemember prior to the time of filing the

petition.

(b)  Order.--The court may grant the eligible servicemember's

request for assignment of custody or visitation rights if the

court finds that custody or visitation on terms as the court

deems appropriate would be in the best interest of the child. An

order granting assignment of custody or visitation rights

pursuant to this section shall terminate immediately upon the

termination of the eligible servicemember's deployment.

(c)  Definitions.--As used in this section, the terms

"contingency operation" and "eligible servicemember" shall have

the same meanings given to them under section 4109 (relating to

child custody proceedings during military deployment).

Section 2 3.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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