Measure 3 at a glance
-- What it is: Measure 3 would overhaul state laws that regulate child custody and child support. It was put on the ballot by an initiative petition, signed by more than 14,000 people.
-- Joint custody: Divorcing parents would be assumed to have joint legal and physical custody of their children, unless one of the parents was able to prove in court that the other was unfit. The initiative does not outline any standards for determining parental unfitness. Under current law, joint custody arrangements happen only if both divorcing parents want it, or if a judge determines joint custody is in a child's best interest.
-- Meaning of custody: Physical custody refers to where the child lives. Legal custody refers to who makes major decisions about the child's welfare. Measure 3 defines joint physical custody as "equal time sharing by the parents." Whether that is the best arrangement for a child may be challenged in court.
-- Child support: The initiative says child support payments may not exceed the "actual cost of providing for the basic needs" of the divorced couple's children. "Actual cost" and "basic needs" are not defined. Under current law, a state formula is used to calculate child support. The parent who does not have primary custody makes support payments, according to his or her income.
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-- Child rearing: Divorcing parents are required to develop a joint parenting plan for their children. If they cannot agree about a plan, a judge or court-appointed mediator will be required to help them do so. The measure does not say what should happen if the parents cannot agree on a parenting plan, even with a mediator's help.
-- Fitness: The law allows any divorced parent to demand a court hearing on his or her former spouse's fitness to be a parent at any time, if the parent has never had a fitness hearing. The standards for determining parental fitness are not outlined in the initiative.
-- Parental interest: In deciding child custody disputes, a judge now considers what is in the child's best interest. The measure emphasizes that a judge must consider the "fundamental liberty interest" of parents "in the care, custody and control of their children."
