Family court reform
Pennsylvania
Where Pennsylvania stands on each reform BMD tracks. General information, not legal advice.
Equal parenting time presumption
Bill in progress
Makes an equal, or approximately equal, parenting-time schedule the legal starting point in a custody case. The presumption is rebuttable, and a court that orders something else has to say why.
Bill: HB 1499 (2025-2026 session)
"Rights of Children - Ensuring Fairness in Custody Determinations." Would presume shared physical custody with substantially equal parenting time. Referred to the House Judiciary Committee on May 28, 2025; the committee listed a public hearing on October 5, 2026. No committee vote has been recorded. Status confirmed 2026-10-12.
Source: official bill or statute page
Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Deployed-parent custody protection
No bill yet
Enacts the Uniform Deployed Parents Custody and Visitation Act: a military deployment by itself is not a reason to change custody, orders made for the deployment are temporary and end with it, and a deploying parent may delegate parenting time.
No bill of this kind is cited for Pennsylvania at the last review.
Reviewed 2026-10-06.
Parenting time interference remedies
No bill yet
Gives a parent denied court-ordered parenting time a real remedy - make-up or compensatory time, costs, or a penalty - rather than leaving contempt as the only route.
No bill of this kind is cited for Pennsylvania at the last review.
Reviewed 2026-10-13.