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SALT LAKE CITY — A judge wouldn't be able consider a parent's disability in awarding custody in a divorce without finding it inhibits the ability to care for the child under legislation a Senate committee approved Monday.
Under current law, parents with disabilities are presumed to be less capable parents and courts can draw that conclusion without any investigation, said Rep. Patrice Arent, D-Millcreek, sponsor of HB150.
The bill reverses that presumption and requires judges to make specific findings that the parent lacks resources to provide for the child's physical and emotional needs.
"I'm shocked that our current code say what it does," Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, told the Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee.
Everette Bacon, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Utah, told the committee he knows of three divorce cases the past few years where a parent has claimed the other parent isn't capable of having custody due to blindness. The parents, he said, didn't mention that blindness being a problem when they had children together.
"It caused a lot of frustration and fear," Bacon said.
The committee unanimously approved the bill. It now goes to the Senate floor for consideration. The bill was approved by unanimous vote in the House last week.
— Dennis Romboy
