PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania lawmakers are working on legislation aimed at streamlining the custody process. Supporters say it would not only lighten the load on already stressed courts but reduce legal fees for families.
The proposed bill would make modifications to a 2011 law that changed what factors judges have to look at when making custody decisions.
“Some of these factors were duplicative in nature and they were causing a lot of work for courts...,” said Montgomery County Democrat Liz Hanbidge, a prime sponsor of the bill.
Montgomery County Family Court Judge Dan Clifford says in 2023 there were 41,000 new custody cases statewide, and that doesn’t include ongoing cases.
“The more time we are spending going over things that we just talked about five minutes ago, just drags us down, both in the courtroom and then outside the courtroom when we're putting our factors into writing,” he said.
Former state Rep., now Luzerne County Family Court Judge Tara Toohil, told the committee efficiency would be welcomed, especially since it would lessen legal fees for families, which sometimes causes people to drop their lawyer and go forward self-represented.
Toohil says that is an added challenge, as even lawyers are confused by the factors.
Lawmakers say they’ll have to make sure the changes align with the recently passed Kayden’s Law, which is aimed at preventing child abuse in custody decisions.