79R1613 KKA-F
By: Goodman H.B. No. 261
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to possession of or access to a grandchild.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 153.432, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 153.432. SUIT FOR POSSESSION OR ACCESS BY GRANDPARENT.
(a) A biological or adoptive grandparent may request possession of
or access to a grandchild by filing:
(1) an original suit; or
(2) a suit for modification as provided by Chapter
156.
(b) A grandparent may request possession of or access to a
grandchild in a suit filed for the sole purpose of requesting the
relief, without regard to whether the appointment of a managing
conservator is an issue in the suit.
SECTION 2. Section 153.433, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 153.433. POSSESSION OF OR [AND] ACCESS TO GRANDCHILD.
The court shall order reasonable possession of or access to a
grandchild by a grandparent if:
(1) at the time the relief is requested, at least one
biological or adoptive parent of the child has not had that parent's
parental rights terminated; [and]
(2) the grandparent requesting possession of or access
to the child overcomes the presumption that a fit parent acts in the
best interest of the parent's child by proving by a preponderance of
the evidence that:
(A) the parent is not fit; or
(B) denial of possession of or access to the
child would significantly impair the child's physical health or
emotional well-being; [access is in the best interest of the
child,] and
(3) at least one of the following facts is present:
(A) the grandparent requesting possession of or
access to the child is a parent of a parent of the child and that
parent of the child:
(i) has been incarcerated in jail or prison
during the three-month period preceding the filing of the petition;
(ii) [or] has been found by a court to be
incompetent;
(iii) [or] is dead;
(iv) does not have actual or court-ordered
possession of or access to the child and has been divorced from the
other parent or a suit for dissolution of the parents' marriage is
pending;
(v) has abused or neglected the child; or
(vi) has had the parent-child relationship
with respect to the child terminated by court order;
(B) [the parents of the child are divorced or
have been living apart for the three-month period preceding the
filing of the petition or a suit for the dissolution of the parents'
marriage is pending;
[(C) the child has been abused or neglected by a
parent of the child;
[(D)] the child has been adjudicated to be a child
in need of supervision or a delinquent child under Title 3;
[(E) the grandparent requesting access to the
child is the parent of a person whose parent-child relationship
with the child has been terminated by court order;] or
(C) [(F)] the child has resided with the
grandparent requesting possession of or access to the child for at
least six months within the 24-month period preceding the filing of
the petition.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 153.434, Family Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 153.434. LIMITATION ON RIGHT TO REQUEST POSSESSION OR
ACCESS.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections
153.432 and 153.433, Family Code, apply only to an original suit or
suit for modification filed under Section 153.432, Family Code, on
or after the effective date of this Act. An original suit or suit
for modification filed under Section 153.432, Family Code, before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
the date that the suit was filed, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.