H.B. 229

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DOMESTIC RELATIONS CASES - NAME DESIGNATION
2 1997 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Sponsor: John L. Valentine
5 AN ACT RELATING TO HUSBAND AND WIFE; CHANGING THE DESIGNATION IN
6 DOMESTIC RELATIONS CASES FROM PLAINTIFF AND DEFENDANT TO
7 PETITIONER AND RESPONDENT; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
8 This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
9 AMENDS:
10 30-3-1, as last amended by Chapter 106, Laws of Utah 1987
11 30-3-4, as last amended by Chapter 62, Laws of Utah 1995
12 62A-4a-105 (Effective 07/01/97), as last amended by Chapter 1, 240, and 314, Laws of Utah
13 1996
14 ENACTS:
15 78-7-32, Utah Code Annotated 1953
16 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
17 Section 1. Section 30-3-1 is amended to read:
18 30-3-1. Procedure -- Residence -- Grounds.
19 (1) Proceedings in divorce are commenced and conducted as provided by law for
20 proceedings in civil causes, except as provided in this chapter.
21 (2) The court may decree a dissolution of the marriage contract between the [plaintiff]
22 petitioner and [defendant] respondent on the grounds specified in Subsection (3) in all cases where
23 the [plaintiff] petitioner or [defendant] respondent has been an actual and bona fide resident of this
24 state and of the county where the action is brought, or if members of the armed forces of the
25 United States who are not legal residents of this state, where the [plaintiff] petitioner has been
26 stationed in this state under military orders, for three months next prior to the commencement of
27 the action.

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

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1 (d) In all actions the court and judge have jurisdiction over the payment of alimony, the
2 distribution of property, and the custody and maintenance of minor children, as the courts and
3 judges possess in other actions for divorce.
4 (e) The [plaintiff] petitioner or [defendant] respondent may, if the [defendant] respondent
5 resides in this state, upon notice, have the [defendant] respondent brought into the court at trial,
6 or have an examination of the [defendant] respondent by two or more competent physicians, to
7 determine the mental condition of the [defendant] respondent. For this purpose either party may
8 have leave from the court to enter any asylum or institution where the [defendant] respondent may
9 be confined. The costs of court in this action shall be apportioned by the court.
10 Section 2. Section 30-3-4 is amended to read:
11 30-3-4. Pleadings -- Findings -- Decree -- Use of affidavit -- Sealing.
12 (1) (a) The complaint shall be in writing and signed by the [plaintiff] petitioner or
13 [plaintiff's] petitioner's attorney.
14 (b) A decree of divorce may not be granted upon default or otherwise except upon legal
15 evidence taken in the cause. If the decree is to be entered upon the default of the [defendant]
16 respondent, evidence to support the decree may be submitted upon the affidavit of the [plaintiff]
17 petitioner with the approval of the court.
18 (c) If the [plaintiff] petitioner and the [defendant] respondent have a child or children and
19 the [plaintiff] petitioner has filed an action in the judicial district as defined in Section 78-1-2.1
20 where the pilot program shall be administered, a decree of divorce may not be granted until both
21 parties have attended a mandatory course provided in Section 30-3-11.3 and have presented a
22 certificate of course completion to the court. The court may waive this requirement, on its own
23 motion or on the motion of one of the parties, if it determines course attendance and completion
24 are not necessary, appropriate, feasible, or in the best interest of the parties.
25 (d) All hearings and trials for divorce shall be held before the court or the court
26 commissioner as provided by Section 78-3-31 and rules of the Judicial Council. The court or the
27 commissioner in all divorce cases shall enter the decree upon the evidence or, in the case of a
28 decree after default of the [defendant] respondent, upon the [plaintiff's] petitioner's affidavit.
29 (2) The file, except the decree of divorce, may be sealed by order of the court upon the
30 motion of either party. The sealed portion of the file is available to the public only upon an order
31 of the court. The concerned parties, the attorneys of record or attorney filing a notice of

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1 appearance in the action, the Office of Recovery Services if a party to the proceedings has applied
2 for or is receiving public assistance, or the court have full access to the entire record. This sealing
3 does not apply to subsequent filings to enforce or amend the decree.
4 Section 3. Section 62A-4a-105 (Effective 07/01/97) is amended to read:
5 62A-4a-105 (Effective 07/01/97). Division responsibilities.
6 The division shall:
7 (1) administer services to children and families, including child welfare services, youth
8 services, domestic violence services, and all other responsibilities the Legislature or the executive
9 director may assign to the division;
10 (2) establish standards for all contract providers of out-of-home care for children and
11 families;
12 (3) cooperate with the federal government in the administration of child welfare, youth
13 services, and domestic violence programs and other human service activities assigned by the
14 department;
15 (4) provide for the compilation of relevant information, statistics, and reports on child and
16 family service matters in the state;
17 (5) prepare and submit to the department, the governor, and the Legislature reports of the
18 operation and administration of the division in accordance with the requirements of Sections
19 62A-4a-117 and 62A-4a-118;
20 (6) promote and enforce state and federal laws enacted for the protection of abused,
21 neglected, dependent, delinquent, ungovernable, and runaway children, and status offenders, in
22 accordance with the requirements of this chapter, unless administration is expressly vested in
23 another division or department of the state. In carrying out this subsection the division shall
24 cooperate with the juvenile courts, the Division of Youth Corrections, and with all public and
25 private licensed child welfare agencies and institutions to develop and administer a broad range
26 of services and supports. The division shall take the initiative in all matters involving the
27 protection of abused or neglected children if adequate provisions have not been made or are not
28 likely to be made, and shall make expenditures necessary for the care and protection of those
29 children, within the division's budget;
30 (7) provide substitute care for dependent, abused, neglected, and delinquent children,
31 establish standards for substitute care facilities, and approve those facilities;

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1 (8) provide financial support to persons adopting physically handicapped, mentally
2 handicapped, older, or other hard-to-place children who, immediately prior to adoption, were legal
3 wards of the state. The financial support provided under this subsection may not exceed the
4 amounts the division would provide for the child as a legal ward of the state;
5 (9) cooperate with the Division of Employment Development in the Department of
6 Workforce Services in meeting social and economic needs of individuals eligible for public
7 assistance;
8 (10) conduct court-ordered home evaluations for the district and juvenile courts with
9 regard to child custody issues. The court shall order either [the plaintiff, defendant,] or both
10 parties to reimburse the division for the cost of that evaluation, in accordance with the community
11 rate for that service or with the department's fee schedule rate;
12 (11) provide noncustodial and in-home preventive services, designed to prevent family
13 breakup, family preservation services, and reunification services to families whose children are
14 in substitute care in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and Title 78, Chapter 3a,
15 Juvenile Courts;
16 (12) provide protective supervision of a family, upon court order, in an effort to eliminate
17 abuse or neglect of a child in that family;
18 (13) provide services to runaway and ungovernable children and their families;
19 (14) provide shelter care in accordance with the requirements of this chapter and Title 78,
20 Chapter 3a;
21 (15) provide social studies and reports for the juvenile court in accordance with Section
22 78-3a-514;
23 (16) arrange for and provide training for staff and providers involved in the administration
24 and delivery of services offered by the division in accordance with this chapter;
25 (17) provide domestic violence services in accordance with the requirements of federal
26 law, and establish standards for all direct or contract providers of domestic violence services.
27 Within appropriations from the Legislature, the division shall provide or contract for a variety of
28 domestic violence services and treatment methods;
29 (18) ensure regular, periodic publication regarding the number of children in the custody
30 of the division who have a permanency goal of adoption and who are eligible for adoption, and
31 promote adoption of those children; and

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1 (19) perform such other duties and functions as required by law.
2 Section 4. Section 49-5a-103 is enacted to read:
3 78-7-32. Domestic Relations cases -- Party designation.
4 Parties in domestic relations cases, including divorce, annulment, property division, child
5 custody, support, visitation, adoption, and paternity, shall be designated as petitioner and
6 respondent.
7 Section 5. Effective date.
8 This act takes effect on July 1, 1997.




Legislative Review Note
as of 1-14-97 7:37 AM

A limited legal review of this bill raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

Committee Note

The Judiciary Interim Committee recommended this bill.

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