Introduced By: Senators Paiva Weed, McCaffrey, McDonald, Parella and Perry
Date Introduced : January 29, 1998
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Chapter 15-5 of the General Laws entitled "Divorce and Separation" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:
{ADD 15-5-14.1. Automatic orders in divorce cases. -- ADD} {ADD (a) Upon the filing of a complaint for dissolution of marriage, legal separation, annulment, custody or visitation by the plaintiff and upon service of the petition and summons of the defendant or upon waiver and acceptance of service by the parties, the automatic orders shall be effective with regard to the plaintiff upon the signing of the complaint and with regard to the defendant upon service. A copy of the automatic order shall be served with the summons and complaint. ADD}
{ADD (1) Neither party shall sell, transfer, encumber, conceal, assign, remove or in any way dispose of, without the consent of the other party in writing, or without an order of the court, any property, individually or jointly held by the parties, except in the usual course of business or for customary and usual household expenses or for reasonable attorneys' fees in connection with this action. ADD}
{ADD (2) Neither party shall incur any unreasonable debts, including but not limited to, further borrowing against any credit line secured by the family residence, further encumbrancing any assets, or unreasonably using credit cards or cash advances against credit or bank cards. Nothing in this section shall be construed to create liability against the creditor under the terms of the original agreement when the creditor acts in good faith and without actual knowledge of the court's order.ADD}
{ADD (3) Neither party shall permanently remove the minor child or children from the state of Rhode Island, without the written consent of the other party or an order of the court. ADD}
{ADD (4) Neither party shall cause the other party or the children of the marriage to be removed from any medical, hospital and/or dental insurance coverage, and each party shall maintain the existing medical, hospital, and dental insurance coverage in full force and effect; and ADD}
{ADD (5) Neither party shall change the beneficiaries of any existing life insurance policies, and each party shall maintain the existing life insurance, automobile insurance, homeowner's or renter's insurance policies in full force and effect. ADD}
{ADD (6) If the parties are living together on the date of service of these orders, neither party may deny the other party use of the current primary residence of the parties, whether it be owned or rented property, without court order. This provision shall not apply if there is a prior, contradictory court order. ADD}
{ADD (7) If the parties share a child or children, a party vacating the family residence shall notify the other party or the other party's attorney, in writing, within forty-eight hours of such move, of an address where the relocated party can receive communication. This provision shall not apply if there is a prior, contradictory court order. ADD}
{ADD (8) If the parents of the children live apart during the dissolution proceeding, they shall assist their children in having contact with both parties, which is consistent with the habits of the family, personally, by telephone, and in writing unless there is a prior court order. ADD}
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.