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H.B. 229 Enrolled

    

DOMESTIC RELATIONS CASES - NAME DESIGNATION

    
1997 GENERAL SESSION

    
STATE OF UTAH

    
Sponsor: John L. Valentine

    AN ACT RELATING TO HUSBAND AND WIFE; CHANGING THE DESIGNATION IN
    DOMESTIC RELATIONS CASES FROM PLAINTIFF AND DEFENDANT TO
    PETITIONER AND RESPONDENT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
    This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
    AMENDS:
         30-3-1, as last amended by Chapter 106, Laws of Utah 1987
         30-3-4, as last amended by Chapter 62, Laws of Utah 1995
         62A-4a-105 (Effective 07/01/97), as last amended by Chapter 1, 240, and 314, Laws of
    Utah 1996
    ENACTS:
         78-7-32, Utah Code Annotated 1953
    Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 30-3-1 is amended to read:
         30-3-1. Procedure -- Residence -- Grounds.
        (1) Proceedings in divorce are commenced and conducted as provided by law for
    proceedings in civil causes, except as provided in this chapter.
        (2) The court may decree a dissolution of the marriage contract between the [plaintiff]
    petitioner and [defendant] respondent on the grounds specified in Subsection (3) in all cases where
    the [plaintiff] petitioner or [defendant] respondent has been an actual and bona fide resident of this
    state and of the county where the action is brought, or if members of the armed forces of the
    United States who are not legal residents of this state, where the [plaintiff] petitioner has been
    stationed in this state under military orders, for three months next prior to the commencement of
    the action.
        (3) Grounds for divorce:
        (a) impotency of the [defendant] respondent at the time of marriage;

        (b) adultery committed by the [defendant] respondent subsequent to marriage;
        (c) willful desertion of the [plaintiff] petitioner by the [defendant] respondent for more than
    one year;
        (d) willful neglect of the [defendant] respondent to provide for the [plaintiff] petitioner the
    common necessaries of life;
        (e) habitual drunkenness of the [defendant] respondent;
        (f) conviction of the [defendant] respondent for a felony;
        (g) cruel treatment of the [plaintiff] petitioner by the [defendant] respondent to the extent
    of causing bodily injury or great mental distress to the [plaintiff] petitioner;
        (h) irreconcilable differences of the marriage;
        (i) incurable insanity; or
        (j) when the husband and wife have lived separately under a decree of separate maintenance
    of any state for three consecutive years without cohabitation.
        (4) A decree of divorce granted under Subsection (3)(j) does not affect the liability of either
    party under any provision for separate maintenance previously granted.
        (5) (a) A divorce may not be granted on the grounds of insanity unless:
        (i) the [defendant] respondent has been adjudged insane by the appropriate authorities of
    this or another state prior to the commencement of the action; and
        (ii) the court finds by the testimony of competent witnesses that the insanity of the
    [defendant] respondent is incurable.
        (b) The court shall appoint for the [defendant] respondent a guardian ad litem[,] who shall
    protect the interests of the [defendant] respondent. A copy of the summons and complaint shall be
    served on the [defendant] respondent in person or by publication, as provided by the laws of this
    state in other actions for divorce, or upon his guardian ad litem, and upon the county attorney for
    the county where the action is prosecuted.
        (c) The county attorney shall investigate the merits of the case and if the [defendant]
    respondent resides out of this state, take depositions as necessary, attend the proceedings, and make
    a defense as is just to protect the rights of the [defendant] respondent and the interests of the state.

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        (d) In all actions the court and judge have jurisdiction over the payment of alimony, the
    distribution of property, and the custody and maintenance of minor children, as the courts and
    judges possess in other actions for divorce.
        (e) The [plaintiff] petitioner or [defendant] respondent may, if the [defendant] respondent
    resides in this state, upon notice, have the [defendant] respondent brought into the court at trial, or
    have an examination of the [defendant] respondent by two or more competent physicians, to
    determine the mental condition of the [defendant] respondent. For this purpose either party may
    have leave from the court to enter any asylum or institution where the [defendant] respondent may
    be confined. The costs of court in this action shall be apportioned by the court.
        Section 2. Section 30-3-4 is amended to read:
         30-3-4. Pleadings -- Findings -- Decree -- Use of affidavit -- Sealing.
        (1) (a) The complaint shall be in writing and signed by the [plaintiff] petitioner or
    [plaintiff's] petitioner's attorney.
        (b) A decree of divorce may not be granted upon default or otherwise except upon legal
    evidence taken in the cause. If the decree is to be entered upon the default of the [defendant]
    respondent, evidence to support the decree may be submitted upon the affidavit of the [plaintiff]
    petitioner with the approval of the court.
        (c) If the [plaintiff] petitioner and the [defendant] respondent have a child or children and
    the [plaintiff] petitioner has filed an action in the judicial district as defined in Section 78-1-2.1
    where the pilot program shall be administered, a decree of divorce may not be granted until both
    parties have attended a mandatory course provided in Section 30-3-11.3 and have presented a
    certificate of course completion to the court. The court may waive this requirement, on its own
    motion or on the motion of one of the parties, if it determines course attendance and completion are
    not necessary, appropriate, feasible, or in the best interest of the parties.
        (d) All hearings and trials for divorce shall be held before the court or the court
    commissioner as provided by Section 78-3-31 and rules of the Judicial Council. The court or the
    commissioner in all divorce cases shall enter the decree upon the evidence or, in the case of a decree
    after default of the [defendant] respondent, upon the [plaintiff's] petitioner's affidavit.

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        (2) The file, except the decree of divorce, may be sealed by order of the court upon the
    motion of either party. The sealed portion of the file is available to the public only upon an order
    of the court. The concerned parties, the attorneys of record or attorney filing a notice of appearance
    in the action, the Office of Recovery Services if a party to the proceedings has applied for or is
    receiving public assistance, or the court have full access to the entire record. This sealing does not
    apply to subsequent filings to enforce or amend the decree.
        Section 3. Section 62A-4a-105 (Effective 07/01/97) is amended to read:
         62A-4a-105 (Effective 07/01/97). Division responsibilities.
        The division shall:
        (1) administer services to children and families, including child welfare services, youth
    services, domestic violence services, and all other responsibilities the Legislature or the executive
    director may assign to the division;
        (2) establish standards for all contract providers of out-of-home care for children and
    families;
        (3) cooperate with the federal government in the administration of child welfare, youth
    services, and domestic violence programs and other human service activities assigned by the
    department;
        (4) provide for the compilation of relevant information, statistics, and reports on child and
    family service matters in the state;
        (5) prepare and submit to the department, the governor, and the Legislature reports of the
    operation and administration of the division in accordance with the requirements of Sections
    62A-4a-117 and 62A-4a-118;
        (6) promote and enforce state and federal laws enacted for the protection of abused,
    neglected, dependent, delinquent, ungovernable, and runaway children, and status offenders, in
    accordance with the requirements of this chapter, unless administration is expressly vested in
    another division or department of the state. In carrying out this subsection the division shall
    cooperate with the juvenile courts, the Division of Youth Corrections, and with all public and
    private licensed child welfare agencies and institutions to develop and administer a broad range of

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    services and supports. The division shall take the initiative in all matters involving the protection
    of abused or neglected children if adequate provisions have not been made or are not likely to be
    made, and shall make expenditures necessary for the care and protection of those children, within
    the division's budget;
        (7) provide substitute care for dependent, abused, neglected, and delinquent children,
    establish standards for substitute care facilities, and approve those facilities;
        (8) provide financial support to persons adopting physically handicapped, mentally
    handicapped, older, or other hard-to-place children who, immediately prior to adoption, were legal
    wards of the state. The financial support provided under this subsection may not exceed the
    amounts the division would provide for the child as a legal ward of the state;
        (9) cooperate with the Division of Employment Development in the Department of
    Workforce Services in meeting social and economic needs of individuals eligible for public
    assistance;
        (10) conduct court-ordered home evaluations for the district and juvenile courts with regard
    to child custody issues. The court shall order either [the plaintiff, defendant,] or both parties to
    reimburse the division for the cost of that evaluation, in accordance with the community rate for that
    service or with the department's fee schedule rate;
        (11) provide noncustodial and in-home preventive services, designed to prevent family
    breakup, family preservation services, and reunification services to families whose children are in
    substitute care in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and Title 78, Chapter 3a, Juvenile
    Courts;
        (12) provide protective supervision of a family, upon court order, in an effort to eliminate
    abuse or neglect of a child in that family;
        (13) provide services to runaway and ungovernable children and their families;
        (14) provide shelter care in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and Title 78,
    Chapter 3a;
        (15) provide social studies and reports for the juvenile court in accordance with Section
    78-3a-514;

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        (16) arrange for and provide training for staff and providers involved in the administration
    and delivery of services offered by the division in accordance with this chapter;
        (17) provide domestic violence services in accordance with the requirements of federal law,
    and establish standards for all direct or contract providers of domestic violence services. Within
    appropriations from the Legislature, the division shall provide or contract for a variety of domestic
    violence services and treatment methods;
        (18) ensure regular, periodic publication regarding the number of children in the custody
    of the division who have a permanency goal of adoption and who are eligible for adoption, and
    promote adoption of those children; and
        (19) perform such other duties and functions as required by law.
        Section 4. Section 78-7-32 is enacted to read:
         78-7-32. Domestic relations cases -- Party designation.
        Parties in domestic relations cases, including divorce, annulment, property division, child
    custody, support, visitation, adoption, and paternity, shall be designated as petitioner and
    respondent.
        Section 5. Effective date.
        This act takes effect on July 1, 1997.

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