Rutkin & Oldham‘s attorneys have actively encouraged, supported, and – where necessary – opposed legislation over many year. Below are some recent legislative activities.
Attorney Oldham authored the position paper adopted by the Connecticut Bar Association in support of “An Act Concerning Post-Majority Child Support” in 1994. Thereafter, she testified before the Connecticut State Judiciary Committee on the need for this legislation. The result was a modest improvement in the state statute to expand child support obligations from an absolute cut-off age of 18 to “age 19 or graduation from high school, whichever first occurs”. This issue was reactivated by local legislators in 2001, and Attorney Oldham again testified on the need to expand the court‘s jurisdiction to permit orders of support for children during the college years. The result was PA 02-128, the Post Majority Educational Support Act, which became effective on October 1, 2002.
Attorney Oldham helped to draft the substitute language which became House Bill 5536, assessing the issue of parental relocation in light of the best interests of the child. The purpose of this law would require that, in child custody proceedings in which a motion is made by either parent regarding relocation with the child, the relocating parent has the burden of proving that the relocation is in the best interests of the child. Attorney Oldham testified at the public hearing to help educate State Representatives regarding the bill, including calling Representative Gerry Fox in the waning days of the session to help educate him about the bill (despite the fact that she was currently in Greece and it was approximately midnight her time). Attorney Rutkin, as a member of the Executive Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association, also testified at a state public hearing on this bill. The bill was approved on June 6, 2006 and signed into law as Public Act 06-168 by Governor Rell and went into effect on October 1, 2006.
Through the Connecticut Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, Attorney Rutkin introduced a divorce arbitration statute to authorize binding arbitration in actions for dissolution of marriage that do not involve child custody or support issues. The statute was subsequently signed into law by Governor Rell on July 13, 2005 and took effect on Oct 1, 2005.