New Hampshire Legislative Service Requests (LSR's)

HB 1263-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2024 SESSION

24-2008

09/05

HOUSE BILL 1263-FN

AN ACT relative to parenting coordinators in high-conflict cases.

SPONSORS: Rep. Kuttab, Rock. 17; Rep. M. Pearson, Rock. 34; Rep. Ball, Rock. 25; Rep. Gregg, Hills. 7; Rep. M. Smith, Straf. 10; Rep. Ankarberg, Straf. 7; Sen. Carson, Dist 14

COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law

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ANALYSIS

This bill authorizes the use of parenting coordinators in high-conflict family court cases and sets qualifications and requirements for those acting as a parenting coordinator.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

24-2008

09/05

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four

AN ACT relative to parenting coordinators in high-conflict cases.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Domestic Relations; Parental Rights and Responsibilities; Parenting Coordinators. Amend RSA 461-A by inserting after section 6 the following new section:

461-A:6-a Parenting Coordinators.

I. The court may appoint a parenting coordinator in high-conflict cases, upon agreement by both parties, to assist the parties in creating agreed-upon structured guidelines for implementing their parenting plan, to improve communication between the parties, to assist in minimizing conflict, and/or to develop a plan to deal with disputes.

II. A list of parenting coordinators shall be maintained by the circuit court. To be eligible to be included on the circuit court's list of parenting coordinators, a person must meet all of the following requirements:

(a) Hold a bachelor's, master's, or doctorate degree in psychology, law, social work, counseling, or be a family practitioner in medicine.

(b) Have at least 3 years of related professional post-degree experience.

(d) Participate in 24 hours of training in fields related to the developmental stages of children, the dynamics of high conflict families, the stages and effects of divorce, problem solving techniques, mediation, and legal issues.

III. Only upon agreement by both parties, the trial court may, at its discretion, appoint a parenting coordinator not meeting the requirements outlined in subparagraphs II(a)-(c).

IV. The appointed parenting coordinator shall disclose to each party, the attorneys of record, and the court any familial, financial, or social relationship that the appointed person has or has had with the child, either party, the attorneys of record, or the judicial officer and, if a relationship exists, the nature of the relationship. A party shall have 7 days from the date of the disclosure to object to the appointment based upon information contained in the disclosure. If a party objects to the appointment, the court shall appoint a different person or confirm the appointment within 7 days after the date of the party's objection. If no party timely objects to the appointment, then the appointment shall be deemed confirmed.

V. Fees and costs for a parenting coordinator shall be paid by the parties equally, unless the court enters an order directing otherwise. The parenting coordinator may recommend that one party pay all or more than half of the fees and costs based upon a party's failure to work in good faith with the parenting coordinator, the other party, or both, or for other good cause. For indigent parties, the court may order that funds be used from the mediation and arbitration fund, provided in RSA 490-E:4.

VI. Parenting coordinators shall file a report with the court as soon as practicable upon matters submitted to them, only upon signed agreement by each party. Absent the agreement by both parties, the parenting coordinator shall not testify nor produce records regarding any statement, conduct, or decision that occurred during the parenting coordinator's appointment to the same extent as a family mediator of this state acting in an official capacity, except when a parenting coordinator has material information alleging abuse or sexual abuse or neglect as defined by RSA 169-C or RSA 173-B.

VII. A parenting coordinator appointed by the court pursuant to this section shall be immune from civil liability in any claim for injury that arises out of an act or omission of the parenting coordinator occurring during the performance of his or her duties or during the performance of any act that a reasonable parenting coordinator would believe was within the scope of his or her duties, unless the act or omission causing the injury was willful and wanton. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to bar a party from asserting a claim related to the reasonableness or accuracy of any fee charged or time billed by a parenting coordinator.

VIII. The supreme court shall establish rules and take such action as necessary to effectuate the purpose of this section, including a regulation of fees.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2025.

LBA

24-2008

10/30/23

HB 1263-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to parenting coordinators in high-conflict cases.

FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None


Estimated State Impact - Increase / (Decrease)
	FY 2024	FY 2025	FY 2026	FY 2027
Revenue	$0	$0	$0	$0
Revenue Fund(s)	None
Expenditures	$0	Indeterminable Increase	Indeterminable Increase	Indeterminable Increase
Funding Source(s)	Mediation and Arbitration Fund
Appropriations	$0	$0	$0	$0
Funding Source(s)	None
• Does this bill provide sufficient funding to cover estimated expenditures? [X] No • Does this bill authorize new positions to implement this bill? [X] No

METHODOLOGY:

This bill authorizes the use of parenting coordinators in high-conflict family court cases and sets

qualifications and requirements for those acting as a parenting coordinator. The Judicial Branch states the bill would increase expenditures from the mediation and arbitration fund by an indeterminable amount. It is not possible to estimate the number of high-conflict cases involving indigent parties that would require a coordinator paid for out of the fund. Additionally, as the bill does not assign a maximum hourly rate or a maximum number of hours of parenting coordination, it is not possible to estimate the average cost per case.

The mediation and arbitration fund covers parenting mediation as part of divorce proceedings as well as neutral case evaluation for eligible parties. For standard cases, the fund covers $225 per party for four hours of mediation and one hour of administrative work. For complex cases on the docket of family mediation, the fund covers $500 for five hours of mediation. The funding for this work is authorized by Circuit Court Rule 1.3 (B), which states: “8.22% of the entry fee paid in each petition and cross-petition in marital cases ($41.00) shall be deposited into the mediation and arbitration fund to be used to pay for mediation where both parties are indigent”. The Branch reports that between FY 2018 and FY 2023, the fund collected an average of $212,681 per year from these fees. In the same period, the fund expended an average of $62,290 per year for mediations involving divorce proceedings that did not involve children and $71,720 per year for mediations involving divorce proceedings where children were involved.

If enacted, this bill would expand the scope of services funded from by mediation and arbitration fund without changes to the revenue stream for the fund. Depending on the scope of the services provided, this bill has the potential to impact the fund's solvency.

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Judicial Branch