Senate Bill 263 amends existing statutes regarding the determination of physical placement of children in family court cases. The bill changes the threshold for when a court must enter specific findings of fact regarding physical placement. Under current law, if a parent is granted less than 25 percent of physical placement, the court must provide reasons for this decision. The new bill raises this threshold to 50 percent, meaning that specific findings will only be required if one parent is awarded less than half of the physical placement time.

The amendments are made to sections 767.225 (1) (am) and 767.41 (6) (a) of the statutes. Both sections now stipulate that if a court grants physical placement to one parent for less than 50 percent of the time, it must enter specific findings of fact explaining why a greater allocation of physical placement is not in the child's best interest. The bill is set to take effect on the first day of the seventh month following its publication.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 767.225(1)(am), 767.225, 767.41(6)(a), 767.41