Senate Bill No. 32

Introduced By halligan



A Bill for an Act entitled: "An Act allowing a party, as a part of a motion for temporary maintenance or support or by independent motion, to request a temporary restraining order providing that insurance coverage not be modified; requiring that a summons issued in a marriage dissolution, maintenance, child custody, child support, or family law mediation action contain a temporary restraining order preventing a party from disposing of marital property without a court order or the consent of the other party, except in the usual course of business, for necessities of life, or for the payment of attorney fees; setting out the terms of the temporary restraining order; and amending section 40-4-121, MCA."



Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Montana:



Section 1.  Section 40-4-121, MCA, is amended to read:

"40-4-121.   Temporary order for maintenance or support, or temporary injunction, or temporary restraining order. (1) In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage or for legal separation or in a proceeding for disposition of property or for maintenance or support following dissolution of the marriage by a court that lacked personal jurisdiction over the absent spouse, either party may move for temporary maintenance or temporary support of a child of the marriage entitled to support. The motion must be accompanied by an affidavit setting forth the factual basis for the motion and the amounts requested.

(2)  As a part of a motion for temporary maintenance or support or by independent motion accompanied by affidavit, either party may request the court to issue a temporary injunction for any of the following relief:

(a)  restraining any a person from transferring, encumbering, concealing, or otherwise disposing of any property, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life, and, if so restrained, requiring the person to notify the moving party of any proposed extraordinary expenditures made after the order is issued;

(b)  restraining both parties from cashing, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability coverage held for the benefit of a party or a child of a party for whom support may be ordered;

(c) enjoining a party from molesting or disturbing the peace of the other party or of any family member or from stalking, as defined in 45-5-220;

(c)(d)  excluding a party from the family home or from the home of the other party upon a showing that physical or emotional harm would otherwise result;

(d)(e)  enjoining a party from removing a child from the jurisdiction of the court;

(e)(f)  ordering a party to complete counseling, including alcohol or chemical dependency counseling or treatment;

(f)(g)  providing other injunctive relief proper in the circumstances; and

(g)(h)  providing additional relief available under Title 40, chapter 15.

(3)  In addition to the contents required by the Montana Rules of Civil Procedure, any WHEN THE CLERK OF THE DISTRICT COURT ISSUES A summons issued pursuant to this chapter must contain, THE CLERK SHALL ISSUE AND INCLUDE WITH THE SUMMONS a temporary restraining order:

(a) restraining both parties from transferring, encumbering, hypothecating, concealing, or in any way disposing of any property, real or personal, whether jointly or separately held, without either the consent of the other party or an order of the court, except in the usual course of business or for the necessities of life. The restraining order must require each party to notify the other party of any proposed extraordinary expenditures at least 5 business days before incurring the expenditures and to account to the court for all extraordinary expenditures made after service of the summons. However, the restraining ORDER may not order preclude either party from using any property to pay reasonable attorney fees in order to retain counsel in the proceeding.

(b) restraining both parties from cashing, borrowing against, canceling, transferring, disposing of, or changing the beneficiaries of any insurance or other coverage, including life, health, automobile, and disability coverage held for the benefit of a party or a child of a party for whom support may be ordered. However, nothing in this subsection (3) adversely affects the rights, title, or interest of a purchaser, encumbrancer, or lessee for value if the purchaser, encumbrancer, or lessee does not have actual knowledge of the restraining order.

(4) A person may seek the relief provided for in subsection (2) without filing a petition under this part for a dissolution of marriage or legal separation by filing a verified petition requesting relief under Title 27, chapter 19, part 3. Any temporary injunction entered under this subsection must be for a fixed period of time, not to exceed 1 year, and may be modified as provided in Title 27, chapter 19, part 4, and 40-4-208, as appropriate.

(4)(5)  The court may issue a temporary restraining order for a period not to exceed 20 days without requiring notice to the other party only if it finds on the basis of the moving affidavit or other evidence that irreparable injury will result to the moving party if no an order is not issued until the time for responding has elapsed.

(5)(6)  A response may be filed within 20 days after service of notice of motion or at the time specified in the temporary restraining order.

(6)(7)  At the time of the hearing, the court shall determine whether good cause exists for the injunction to continue for 1 year.

(7)(8)  On the basis of the showing made and in conformity with 40-4-203 and 40-4-204, the court may issue a temporary injunction and an order for temporary maintenance or support in amounts and on terms just and proper in the circumstance.

(8)(9)  A temporary order or injunction, entered pursuant to Title 40, chapter 15, or this section:

(a)  may be revoked or modified on a showing by affidavit of the facts necessary to revocation or modification of a final decree under 40-4-208;

(b)  terminates upon order of the court or when the petition is voluntarily dismissed; and

(c)  when issued under this section, must conspicuously bear the following: "Violation of this order is a criminal offense under 45-5-220 or 45-5-626."

(9)(10)  When the petitioner has fled the parties' residence, notice of the petitioner's new residence must be withheld except by order of the court for good cause shown."

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