83R10386 JSC-D
By: Elkins H.B. No. 3612
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to marriage education courses for certain couples filing
for divorce on the grounds of insupportability.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 6, Family Code, is amended
by adding Section 6.4025 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.4025. MARRIAGE EDUCATION REQUIRED IN CERTAIN SUITS.
(a) This section applies to a suit for dissolution of marriage
filed on the grounds of insupportability and in which the household
of one of the parties is the primary residence for a child under the
age of 18.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a petition in a
suit for dissolution of a marriage must be accompanied by:
(1) a completion certificate for a marriage education
course under Section 6.412 completed by the petitioner not less
than one year but not more than two years before the date the
petition is filed; and
(2) a statement that after completing the marriage
education course, but not less than one year before filing the
petition, the petitioner gave the respondent written notice of:
(A) the intent to file for dissolution; and
(B) the availability of the marriage education
course, if the respondent has not completed a marriage education
course.
(c) Not later than the 14th day after the date the
respondent receives notice of the suit for dissolution of marriage,
the respondent may file with the court a completion certificate for
a marriage education course under Section 6.412 completed by the
respondent not more than two years before the date the petition is
filed.
(d) If a party submits evidence under Subsection (e), the
court may not:
(1) require a completion certificate for a marriage
education course to be submitted with the petition; or
(2) consider the completion of the marriage education
course as a factor in rendering an order affecting the rights or
responsibilities of the parties.
(e) Either party may submit to the court evidence that the
other party to the suit has committed family violence against the
party or mentally, emotionally, verbally, or psychologically
abused the party, including:
(1) a copy of a protective order issued under Title 4
against the other party because of family violence;
(2) a police record documenting family violence by the
other party against the party submitting the evidence;
(3) a statement by a physician or other medical
evidence that indicates that the party submitting the evidence was
a victim of family violence; or
(4) a sworn statement by a counselor or advocate in a
family violence program that indicates that the party submitting
the evidence was a victim of family violence or mental, emotional,
verbal, or psychological abuse.
SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Chapter 6, Family Code, is amended
by adding Section 6.412 to read as follows:
Sec. 6.412. MARRIAGE EDUCATION COURSES. (a) Each party to
a suit for dissolution of a marriage is encouraged to attend a
marriage education course of at least four hours, completed within
a 30-day period. The goal of the course, and the focus of each
component of the course, is marriage restoration.
(b) A marriage education course must, at a minimum, include
instruction in:
(1) the potential effects of divorce on a child,
including:
(A) the possible effects of divorce on
depression, suicidal thoughts, and increased suicide attempts;
(B) responses to divorce that may include
dropping out of school or the use of drugs or alcohol; and
(C) other symptoms of maladjustment to divorce;
(2) the potential effects of divorce on the parties to
the divorce, including:
(A) the financial consequences of divorce;
(B) the rates of divorce in second and third
marriages;
(C) the effect of divorce on a parent's
relationship with the parent's child; and
(D) time spent with a child by a possessory
conservator after a divorce;
(3) skills building, including:
(A) parenting skills;
(B) communication skills;
(C) conflict resolution skills;
(D) money management skills; and
(E) overcoming infidelity; and
(4) relevant information and referral services for:
(A) domestic violence; and
(B) substance abuse.
(c) The Health and Human Services Commission, in
consultation with domestic violence organizations and experts,
shall certify the curriculum of a course.
(d) The Health and Human Services Commission may approve an
online course for use in counties in which no marriage education
course is regularly offered.
(e) The Health and Human Services Commission shall approve
individuals and organizations, including community and faith-based
organizations, that are certified in a skills-based and
research-based marriage curriculum to provide courses under this
section.
(f) A person who takes a course under this section shall pay
any fee charged for the course.
(g) The Health and Human Services Commission may subsidize a
marriage education course approved under this section if funding is
available. The Health and Human Services Commission may apply for,
accept, and use any applicable federal grants.
(h) If a provider of a marriage education course receives a
subsidy under Subsection (g), the provider must adopt a procedure
for waiving or reducing the marriage education course fee for a
person who is indigent.
(i) A person who provides a marriage education course shall
provide a signed and dated completion certificate to each person
who completes the course. The certificate must include the name of
the course, the name of the course provider, and the completion
date.
(j) The Health and Human Services Commission shall maintain
an Internet website that lists the courses certified or approved
under Subsections (c) and (d). The executive commissioner shall
notify each county clerk and district clerk about the website. The
clerk of the court in which a petition for dissolution of a marriage
based on insupportability is filed shall give the person filing the
petition information about the website along with the location of
libraries or other resource centers that provide access to the
Internet.
SECTION 3. Section 7.002, Family Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) In ordering a division of the estate of parties subject
to Section 6.4025, the court shall consider whether a party has
filed with the court a completion certificate for a marriage
education course under Section 6.412 completed by the party not
more than two years before the date the petition for dissolution of
marriage is filed.
SECTION 4. Section 8.052, Family Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 8.052. FACTORS IN DETERMINING MAINTENANCE. A court
that determines that a spouse is eligible to receive maintenance
under this chapter shall determine the nature, amount, duration,
and manner of periodic payments by considering all relevant
factors, including:
(1) each spouse's ability to provide for that spouse's
minimum reasonable needs independently, considering that spouse's
financial resources on dissolution of the marriage;
(2) the education and employment skills of the
spouses, the time necessary to acquire sufficient education or
training to enable the spouse seeking maintenance to earn
sufficient income, and the availability and feasibility of that
education or training;
(3) the duration of the marriage;
(4) the age, employment history, earning ability, and
physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance;
(5) the effect on each spouse's ability to provide for
that spouse's minimum reasonable needs while providing periodic
child support payments or maintenance, if applicable;
(6) acts by either spouse resulting in excessive or
abnormal expenditures or destruction, concealment, or fraudulent
disposition of community property, joint tenancy, or other property
held in common;
(7) the contribution by one spouse to the education,
training, or increased earning power of the other spouse;
(8) the property brought to the marriage by either
spouse;
(9) the contribution of a spouse as homemaker;
(10) marital misconduct, including adultery and cruel
treatment, by either spouse during the marriage; [and]
(11) any history or pattern of family violence, as
defined by Section 71.004; and
(12) if the suit for dissolution was subject to
Section 6.4025, whether either spouse has filed with the court a
completion certificate for a marriage education course under
Section 6.412 completed by the spouse not more than two years before
the date the petition for dissolution of marriage is filed.
SECTION 5. Subchapter A, Chapter 153, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 153.0035 to read as follows:
Sec. 153.0035. CONSIDERATION OF COMPLETION OF MARRIAGE
EDUCATION COURSE. In determining whether to appoint a party as a
sole or joint managing conservator, the court shall consider
whether a party in a suit subject to Section 6.4025 has filed with
the court a completion certificate for a marriage education course
under Section 6.412 completed by the party not more than two years
before the date the petition for dissolution of marriage is filed.
SECTION 6. Section 154.123(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) In determining whether application of the guidelines
would be unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances, the court
shall consider evidence of all relevant factors, including:
(1) the age and needs of the child;
(2) the ability of the parents to contribute to the
support of the child;
(3) any financial resources available for the support
of the child;
(4) the amount of time of possession of and access to a
child;
(5) the amount of the obligee's net resources,
including the earning potential of the obligee if the actual income
of the obligee is significantly less than what the obligee could
earn because the obligee is intentionally unemployed or
underemployed and including an increase or decrease in the income
of the obligee or income that may be attributed to the property and
assets of the obligee;
(6) child care expenses incurred by either party in
order to maintain gainful employment;
(7) whether either party has the managing
conservatorship or actual physical custody of another child;
(8) the amount of alimony or spousal maintenance
actually and currently being paid or received by a party;
(9) the expenses for a son or daughter for education
beyond secondary school;
(10) whether the obligor or obligee has an automobile,
housing, or other benefits furnished by his or her employer,
another person, or a business entity;
(11) the amount of other deductions from the wage or
salary income and from other compensation for personal services of
the parties;
(12) provision for health care insurance and payment
of uninsured medical expenses;
(13) special or extraordinary educational, health
care, or other expenses of the parties or of the child;
(14) the cost of travel in order to exercise
possession of and access to a child;
(15) positive or negative cash flow from any real and
personal property and assets, including a business and investments;
(16) debts or debt service assumed by either party;
[and]
(17) if the obligee and obligor were parties in a suit
subject to Section 6.4025, whether either party has filed with the
court a completion certificate for a marriage education course
under Section 6.412 completed by the party not more than two years
before the date the petition for dissolution of marriage is filed;
and
(18) any other reason consistent with the best
interest of the child, taking into consideration the circumstances
of the parents.
SECTION 7. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a suit for dissolution of a marriage filed on or after the
effective date of this Act. A suit for dissolution of a marriage
filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect on the date the suit was filed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect January 1, 2014.