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Under current law, a man may be adjudicated to be a child's father in a

paternity action. In addition, a man and a child's mother may sign and file with the

state registrar a form called a statement acknowledging paternity. Both cases result

in a conclusive determination that the man is the child's father, and the state

registrar may change the child's birth certificate to show the man as the child's father

and a court may enter orders for child support, legal custody, and physical placement

rights with respect to the man. Current law also contains presumptions of paternity.

There is a presumption (marriage presumption) that a man is the father of a child

if he and the child's mother were married when the child was conceived or born or

if he and child's mother married after the child was born but had a relationship

during the time within which the child was conceived and no other man has been

adjudicated to be the father or is presumed to be the father because he was married

to the child's mother when the child was conceived or born. There is also a

presumption (statement acknowledging paternity presumption) that a man is a

child's father if he and the child's mother signed and filed a statement acknowledging

paternity with the state registrar and no other man is presumed to be the child's

father under the marriage presumption.

This bill creates another way for a man to be conclusively determined to be a

child's father, with the same effect as a paternity judgment. Under the bill, a man

is conclusively determined to be a child's father if all of the following are satisfied:

1) genetic tests are performed with respect to the child, the child's mother, and the

man and the test results show that the man is not excluded as the father and the

statistical probability that he is the father is 99 percent or higher; 2) both the mother

and the man are at least 18 years old; 3) there is no marriage or statement

acknowledging paternity presumption; and 4) the genetic tests were performed in

response to a subpoena issued by a county child support agency (child support

agency) requiring the parties to submit to the tests. If all of those requirements are

satisfied, the child support agency must send notice to the parties advising of the test

results, that an action may be commenced for orders related to child support, legal

custody, and physical placement, and that the man may submit to the child support

agency a written objection to the test results. If the man submits an objection, the

child support agency must commence a paternity action on behalf of the state and

the test results are admissible in the action. If the man does not submit an objection

by the time specified in the notice, the child support agency must file with the state

registrar a report of the test results, showing a conclusive determination of paternity.

On the basis of the report, the state registrar must insert the name of the father on

the child's original birth certificate if the father's name was omitted.

Under the bill, if genetic test results conclusively determine a man to be a child's

father, an action may be brought for child support, legal custody, and physical

placement. The court may also require the man to pay or contribute to the reasonable