Proposed Changes to Family Court Procedures and Child Custody Hearings
March 13, 2026
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The Frame
Parents involved in custody disputes will face new, mandatory timelines for court hearings, potentially accelerating the resolution of temporary custody and enforcement motions, while the state will begin tracking and reporting on judicial efficiency in these cases.
Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.
Parents in custody disputes
They are subject to new mandatory timelines for hearings and changes to how parenting plans are determined by the court.
Family law judges
They must adhere to new statutory deadlines for conducting hearings and issuing orders on time-sharing matters.
Office of the State Courts Administrator
They are required to collect data and publish an annual report on court hearing performance.
Last recorded activity March 13, 2026.
Introduced.
Summary
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly must a judge hear a motion to enforce a time-sharing order?
Can a court force me to go to mediation before a hearing?
What happens to the presumption that a mother gets sole custody if no plan is in place?
Why It Matters
Parents involved in custody disputes will face new, mandatory timelines for court hearings, potentially accelerating the resolution of temporary custody and enforcement motions, while the state will begin tracking and reporting on judicial efficiency in these cases.
News Coverage
Lobbying Activity
AARP
2026
“P.L. 119-21, One Big Beautiful Bill Act H.R. 8867, Planning for Long-term Aging Needs (PLAN) Act H.R. 5861, Legacy Act of 2025 H.R. 9393, the Lower Costs, More Transparency Act. H.R. 9396, the Prior Authorization Accountability Act. S. 4916, the Aging with Artificial Intelligence Act. H.R. 8100, Safe Staffing Saves Lives Act. S. 3886, Nurses Belong in Nursing Homes Act. H.R. 6766/S. 3492, the Essential Caregivers Act of 2025. H.R. 7966/S. 4118, Hospice Care Accountability, Reform, and Enforcement (Hospice CARE) Act. S. 2120, the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2025 H.R. 5575, the Firefighters Assisting Seniors to Emergency Response (FASTER) Act of 2025. H.R. 3954/S. 4641, Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act. H.R.5554/S.2831, Stand Strong for Medicare Act. S. 3439/H.R. 6735, Connecting Caregivers to Medicare Act and efforts related to the bill S. 1227/H.R. 2491, Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers Act S. 668/H.R. 3183, Supporting Access to Falls Education and Prevention and Strengthening Training Efforts and Promoting Safety Initiatives (SAFE STEPS) for Veterans Act of 2025 CMS-1851-P, Hospice Proposed rule. CMS-1843-P, Skilled Nursing Facility Proposed rule. CMS-1844-P, Home Health Proposed rule. No bill number. Health care transparency. No bill number. Discussed use of artificial intelligence and health data technology. No bill number. Discussed health-related policies and activities around the fall respiratory virus season. No bill number. Discussed health insurance affordability proposals. No bill number. Discussed Nursing Home staffing standards, safety, and quality. No bill number. Discussed Nursing home transparency and ownership requirements. No bill number. Discussed home health, hospice, and long-term care. No bill number. Discussed falls prevention. No bill number. Discussed social isolation. No bill number. Discussed HUD Assisted Living Requirements No bill number. Discussed family caregiving. No bill number. Discussed AARP paper on Medicare Caregiver Training Services. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid community engagement interim final rule, including the family caregiver exemption. No bill number. Discussed the paid direct care workforce in long-term care. No bill number. Discussed the unaffordability of long-term care. No bill number. Discussed Money Follows the Person Rebalancing Demonstration Program and Medicaid HCBS spousal impoverishment protections. No bill number. Discussed Medicaid fraud and family caregivers, Medicaid self-direction programs. No bill number. Discussed sandwich generation family caregiver hearing and submitted a statement for the record discussing family caregivers and sandwich generation caregivers, programs that support them, AARP caregiving resources, and federal policies to support sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers more broadly. No bill number. Discussed long-term care. No bill number. CMS-2453-NC; Medicaid Program; 2028 Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services Quality Measure Set Submitted comments No bill number. Discussed expanding access to home care. No bill number. Discussed the increasing cost of home care No bill number. Discussed HSA use for telehealth chronic care management services/subscriptions. No bill number. Discussed artificial intelligence and technology”
NELSON MULLINS RILEY & SCARBOROUGH
on behalf of UNIFORM LAW COMMISSION (NAT'L CONFERENCE OF COMMISSIONERS ON UNIFORM STATE LAWS)
CURE SMA
MILLER STRATEGIES, LLC
on behalf of NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FOUNDATION
SINGISER SOLUTIONS LLC
on behalf of HOPEWELL FUND
MARY K MINAGHAN DBA MKM SERVICES
on behalf of CHICAGOLAND APARTMENT ASSOCIATION
MARY K MINAGHAN DBA MKM SERVICES
on behalf of CHICAGOLAND APARTMENT ASSOCIATION
LANGDON D NEAL
on behalf of STEANS FAMILY FOUNDATION
MARY K MINAGHAN DBA MKM SERVICES
on behalf of CHICAGOLAND APARTMENT ASSOCIATION
Voting Record
Favorable with Committee Substitute
Total
11
Yes
11
No
0
Present
0
Not Voting
0
Abstain
0
How they voted (11)
Lori Berman
Democratic · yes
Ed Hooper
Republican · yes
Jay Trumbull
Republican · yes
Tom Leek
Republican · yes
Tina Polsky
Democratic · yes
Don Gaetz
Republican · yes
Rosalind Osgood
Democratic · yes
Kathleen Passidomo
Republican · yes
Nick DiCeglie
Republican · yes
Colleen Burton
Republican · yes
Clay Yarborough
Republican · yes
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Shift from Discretionary to Mandatory Timelines
The bill moves family court from a system of judicial discretion regarding hearing scheduling to a rigid, statutory deadline-based system for time-sharing disputes.
Connected Entities
Sources
openstates.org
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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