Legislation Tracking: Disestablishment of Paternity

Enacted Legislation

STATE

CITE

Summary

AL

§26-17a-1

ENACTED - 1994

Allows action to disestablish paternity to be brought at any time upon presentation of scientific evidence by legal father that he is not the biological father. Not applicable in cases of adoption. Section 26-17a-2 prohibits claims for damages, recoupment or reimbursement against court, mother or state.

MD

§5-1038

ENACTED - 1997

Allows declaration of paternity to be set aside at any time.

IN

§31-14-11-23

ENACTED - 1997

Requires termination of child support obligation and any arrearages if court vacates paternity based on fraud or mistake of fact. See also §31-14-6-1 requiring court to order genetic testing upon the motion of any party to a paternity action.

IL

§750-45/7

ENACTED - 1998

Allows adjudicated father to bring action to declare non-existence of parent-child relationship, based on DNA test results. Custody, visitation and child support orders may be vacated. 750-45/8 establishes a 2-year statute of limitations for these actions.

IA

§600B.41A

ENACTED - 1998

Allows action to overcome paternity by mother, established father or child if filed prior to child reaching the age of majority. Does not allow disestablishment of paternity determinations of other states. Does not allow disestablishment of determinations based on genetic test results of 95% or higher, unless conducted before July 1, 1992.

OH

§3119.962

ENACTED - 2000

Allows action to disestablish paternity to be brought at any time.

Note: Section 3 of the house bill that introduced this legislation read: The General Assembly hereby declares that it is a person's or male minor's substantive right to obtain relief from a final judgment, court order, or administrative determination or order that determines that the person or male minor is the father of a child or that requires the person or male minor to pay child support for a child. The person or male minor may obtain relief from a final judgment, court order, or administrative determination or order only if relief is granted based on genetic evidence that the person or male minor is not the father of the child who is the subject of the judgment, order, or determination.

VA

§20-49.10

ENACTED - 2001

Allows court to set aside legal determination of paternity based on a scientifically reliable genetic test. Court may set aside child support obligation. Court must appoint guardian ad litem to represent child’s interests.

AR

§9-10-115

ENACTED - 2001

Permits a man adjudicated to be the father of a child without a scientific test to request one paternity test at any point during his child support obligation. If the test proves he is not the father, the child support obligation ceases.

LA

§14:125.2

ENACTED - 2001

Creates the crime of giving false statements concerning paternity.

GA

§19-7-54

ENACTED - 2002

Allows action to disestablish paternity to be brought at any time.

Proposed Legislation

STATE

CITE

Intro/Last Action

Summary

CA

SB 1030

Intro: February 2003

LAST ACTION: 6/26/03- From committee with author's amendments. Read second time. Amended. Re-referred to Assembly Judiciary Cmtee.

“Default Paternity Justice Act” Allows an action to set aside a default judgment of paternity to be brought within two years of service of an income withholding order or within two years of the enactment of this law. Court may deny action based on best interests of the child. Requires court to vacate child support orders for any disestablished father. Allows presumed father to bring civil action for fraud against mother to recover child support paid plus interest, cost of action plus reasonable attorney fees, or future child support amounts owed plus interest in cases where default judgment of paternity is not set aside. Does not apply to marital presumption of paternity, adoption, or artificial insemination.

Sponsor - Senator Ashburn

CA

AB 252

ReIntro: January 2004 (was placed in inactive file 9/5/03)

LAST ACTION: 1/29/04- Passed Assembly, to Senate. 2/17/04- to Senate Cmtee on Judiciary.

Permits disestablishment of paternity at any time. Requires courts to inform alleged fathers of the right to genetic testing to determine paternity and of the right to move to set aside or vacate a judgment of paternity.

Sponsor - Assembly Member Jackson

CO

HB 1083

Intro: January 2004

LAST ACTION: 1/7/04- Ref’d to Information & Technology. 3/2/04- Passed House. 3/4/04- Ref’d to Senate Judiciary. 3/29/04- Postponed indefinitely by Senate Judiciary Cmtee.

Specifies that conclusive DNA genetic testing results constitute a substantial and continuing change in circumstances warranting modification of child support. Directs the court in such cases to terminate the child support installments accruing after the filing of the motion for modification based on the genetic testing results.

Sponsors- Representatives Sinclair/ Jones

HI

SB 2659

Intro: January 2004

LAST ACTION: 1/28/04- Ref’d to Human Services and Judiciary & Hawaiian Welfare Cmtees. 2/11/04- Human Services Cmtee voted to recommend the measure be HELD.

Requires unwed fathers to submit to mandatory genetic testing prior to issuance of a child support order. Allows married fathers to sign a genetic testing waiver and an acknowledgment of paternity form in lieu of genetic testing.

Sponsors- Senators Chun Oakland/ Kanno

IL

HB 2267

Intro: February 2003

LAST ACTION: 3/25/03 passed House- 4/15/03 Referred to Senate Cmtee on Rules (May be brought up in 2004 spring session)

Creates crime of paternity fraud as Class A misdemeanor.

Sponsors- Representative William Delgado / Senator Iris Martinez

IN

SB 175

Intro: January 2004

LAST ACTION: 1/6/04- Ref’d to Senate Judiciary Cmtee

Allows a person previously ordered to pay child support a new hearing if a genetic test establishes that the person is not the biological parent of the child.

Sponsor- Senator Waterman

MA

HB 2470

Intro: January 2003

LAST ACTION: 9/25/03 House Cmtee on Judiciary (will be carried over into next year)

Allows disestablishment of paternity at any time and requires cancellation of child support and arrearages. Excepts cases of adoption, artificial insemination and where the man knew the child was not his before being presumed or acknowledging himself as the child's father.

Sponsors - Representative Geoffrey Hall

MI

HB 4120

Intro: January 2003

LAST ACTION: 1/30/03 Ref’d to Cmtee on Judiciary, 5/23/03 Fiscal analysis statement produced

Allows action to disestablish paternity to be brought at any time.

Sponsor - Representative James Koetje

NJ

AB 2374

Intro: June 2002

LAST ACTION: 2/10/03 Assembly Floor Amendments Passed (bill is active until 1/04, at which point it can be reintroduced)

Amends New Jersey Parentage Act. Adds genetic test results of 95% or higher to circumstances in which a man is presumed to be the biological father of a child. Allows action to disestablish paternity to be brought at any time. Specifies who may bring a paternity action. Specifies what is to be done about child support in the event paternity is disestablished.

Sponsors - Assemblyman Anthony Impreveduto, Assemblyman Neil Cohen

NJ

SB 2692

Intro: June 2003

LAST ACTION: 6/23/03 Referred to Senate Judiciary Committee (bill is active until 1/04, at which point it can be reintroduced)

Amends New Jersey Parentage Act. Adds genetic test results of 95% or higher to circumstances in which a man is presumed to be the biological father of a child. Allows action to disestablish paternity to be brought at any time. Specifies who may bring a paternity action. Specifies what is to be done about child support in the event paternity is disestablished.

Sponsors - Senator Raymond Lesniak, Senator Leonard Lance

NJ

AB 1130

Intro: January 2002

LAST ACTION: 3/13/03 Passed Assembly. 3/17/03- Ref’d to Senate Judiciary (bill is active until 1/04, at which point it can be reintroduced)

Clarifies definition of “blood or genetic test” to mean “an analysis of genetic markers to exclude or identify a man as the father or the woman as the mother of a child.”

Sponsors - Assemblywoman Joan Quigley, Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan

NJ

SB 53

Intro: January 2002

LAST ACTION: 1/8/02 Ref’d to Senate Judiciary Cmtee (bill is active until 1/13/04, at which point it can be reintroduced)

Allows action to disestablish paternity to be brought at any time.

Sponsor- Senator Walter Kavanaugh

NJ

AB 1850

Intro: January 2004

LAST ACTION: 1/22/04- Introduced and ref’d to Assembly Judiciary Cmtee.

Requires mandatory genetic testing in any non-dissolution action where child support is at issue and where the existence or nonexistence of a parent and child relationship is at issue.

Sponsor - Assemblyman Neil Cohen

NY

AB 2850

Intro: February 2003

LAST ACTION: 3/24/03 Amended in Assembly Judiciary Cmtee. 1/7/04- Ref’d to Assembly Judiciary Cmtee.

Allows posthumous paternity testing.

Sponsors - Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz, Assemblywoman Helene Weinstein

PA

HB 1562

HB 1655

Intro: June 2003

LAST ACTION: 9/9/03 Remains in House Judiciary Cmtee (PA has a two year session, will be in committee next year)

Allows rebuttal of marital presumption w/in 5 years, provided that the overall interests of justice, including the best interests of the child, would not be unreasonably harmed.

Sponsor - Representative Rod Wilt/Representative Dennis Leh

PA

SB 108

Intro: February 2003

LAST ACTION: 2/3/03- Ref’d to Senate Judiciary Cmtee.

Allows action to disestablish to be brought within 5 years of child’s birth, providing best interests of the child would not be unreasonably harmed.

Sponsor- Senator O’Pake

SC

HB 3069

Intro: January 2003

LAST ACTION: 1/14/03 Ref’d to Judiciary (SC is on a two year session, still has chance to come out of committee next session)

Allows rebuttal of voluntary acknowledgement of paternity within 3 years of establishment.

Sponsors - Representatives John Snow and William Cotty

Failed to Pass

State/Bill No.

Summary

Last Action

FL SB 2658

Allows unmarried biological father to request DNA testing of mother, child and legal father. Permits biological father to petition for visitation based on test results.

4/30/04- died in committee

WI AB 557

Requires court to admit genetic test results to rebut marital presumption in actions for annulment, divorce, separation, custody or paternity

3/31/04- failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

WY HB 216

Eliminates time limit for bringing an action to disestablish paternity.

3/5/04- died in committee

TN SB 2506

TN HB 2432

Allows action to disestablish paternity within 10 years of divorce decree. Terminates child support arrearages upon exclusion as biological father.

2/23/04- Withdrawn

VA SB 524

Requires child support orders for unwed parents to contain a statement that paternity has been established through scientifically reliable tests.

2/9/04- Withdrawn

FL SB 1938

Requires DNA testing of all live births; allows disestablishment of paternity at any time with genetic test.

5/2/03- died in committee

ID HB 417

Allows motion to set aside a determination of paternity to be brought at any time.

4/15/03- Died in committee

NM SB 851

Requires genetic testing of named father in all unmarried births and before establishment of child support orders. Provides married fathers opportunity to test children at birth or sign waiver barring future action after 2 years.

2/20/03- died in committee

NM SB 824

Requires genetic testing of named father in all unmarried births and before establishment of child support orders. Provides married fathers opportunity to test children at birth or sign waiver barring future action after 2 years.

2/20/03- died in committee

IN HB 1954

Requires court to order genetic testing upon motion by any party to a paternity action even if paternity has already been acknowledged before the court.

1/23/03- died in committee

PA HB 2701

Allows rebuttal of marital presumption w/in 5 years

Intro’d 2002- died in committee

PA HB 1258

Allows rebuttal of marital presumption w/in 5 years

Intro’d 2001- died in committee

PA SB 802

Allows rebuttal of marital presumption w/in 5 years

Intro’d 2001- died in committee

ME LD 961

Requires court to terminate child support order upon proof by genetic testing that putative father is not biological father.

3/27/03- died in committee, folded into study of UPA to be conducted by the Family Law Advisory Commission per LD 865

CA AB 2240

Outlines procedures for setting aside a default judgement of paternity after time period has expired. Permits legal father to bring civil action against biological father

9/26/02- vetoed by Governor

GA HB 1172

Legitimizes child through establishment of paternity

4/2/02- died in committee

WI AB 839

Prohibits dismissal, in child’s best interest, of action to rebut paternity

3/26/02- failed to pass

AL SB 552

Replaces the term “bastard” with “child born of unwed parents”

3/21/02- died in committee

OK HB 1077

Allows husband to dispute marital presumption at any time

3/20/02- died in committee

RI HB 7173

Retroactive reimbursement of child support, mandatory paternity testing for out of wedlock child

3/19/02- died in committee

FL HB 379P

Universal paternity/DNA testing of all newborns

3/19/02- died in committee

GA HB 1513

“Baby’s Right to Know Act” requires mothers to name fathers

2/26/02- died in committee

MD HB 702

No paternity testing after 3 years

2/25/02- died in committee

MD HB 478

Former fathers must pay arrears/ no recoupment of child support

2/25/02- died in committee

NH HB 1173

Requires mother to name all possible fathers at birth to preserve future paternity actions

2/14/02- died in committee

VT HB 735

Creates crime of paternity fraud

2/5/02- died in committee

SC HB 4608

Allows paternity testing within 3 years

1/29/02- died in committee

MI HB 4635

Allows action to disestablish paternity to be brought at any time.

1/1/02 - failed to pass

FL HB 73

Paternity fraud/ reimbursement of child support

11/30/01- withdrawn prior to introd.

OR HB 3498

Can end child support obligation w/ DNA test

7/7/01- died in committee

OR SB 886

Requires mother to name father

7/7/01- died in committee

OR SB 759

Makes changes to marital presumption

7/7/01- died in committee

VA HB 505

Expands law to allow “any appropriate party” to move for genetic testing to determine parentage

12/20/00- died in committee