| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to determination of parentage; amending s. |
| 3 | 63.054, F.S., to conform with the provisions of this act; |
| 4 | amending s. 742.12, F.S.; authorizing certain unmarried |
| 5 | biological fathers to petition for certain paternity tests |
| 6 | for visitation purposes under certain circumstances; |
| 7 | authorizing such fathers to petition for visitation under |
| 8 | certain circumstances; providing for due process rights of |
| 9 | the mother and legal father; specifying a required burden |
| 10 | of proof; authorizing a court to order visitation under |
| 11 | certain circumstances; limiting the effect of such order; |
| 12 | providing a statute of limitation; providing an effective |
| 13 | date. |
| 14 |
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| 15 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 63.054, Florida |
| 18 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 19 | 63.054 Actions required by an unmarried biological father |
| 20 | to establish parental rights; Florida Putative Father |
| 21 | Registry.-- |
| 22 | (1) In order to preserve the right to notice and consent |
| 23 | to an adoption under this chapter, and for the purposes of s. |
| 24 | 742.12(8), an unmarried biological father must, as the |
| 25 | "registrant," file a notarized claim of paternity form with the |
| 26 | Florida Putative Father Registry maintained by the Office of |
| 27 | Vital Statistics of the Department of Health and shall include |
| 28 | therein confirmation of his willingness and intent to support |
| 29 | the child for whom paternity is claimed in accordance with state |
| 30 | law. The claim of paternity may be filed at any time prior to |
| 31 | the child's birth, but a claim of paternity may not be filed |
| 32 | after the date a petition is filed for termination of parental |
| 33 | rights. |
| 34 | Section 2. Subsection (8) is added to section 742.12, |
| 35 | Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 36 | 742.12 Scientific testing to determine paternity.-- |
| 37 | (8)(a) Notwithstanding s. 742.011, and for the purposes of |
| 38 | visitation only, an unmarried biological father, as defined in |
| 39 | s. 63.032(19), who has registered with the Florida Putative |
| 40 | Father Registry pursuant to s. 63.054, may petition the court to |
| 41 | require the child, the mother, and the legal father to submit to |
| 42 | scientific tests that are generally acceptable within the |
| 43 | scientific community to show a probability of paternity. If the |
| 44 | test results show a statistical probability of paternity that |
| 45 | equals or exceeds 95 percent, the unmarried biological father |
| 46 | may petition the court for visitation. The mother and legal |
| 47 | father have a right to notice and an opportunity to be heard. |
| 48 | The burden of proof is on the unmarried biological father, by |
| 49 | clear and convincing evidence. Upon a finding by the court that |
| 50 | visitation would be in the child?s best interests, the court may |
| 51 | order visitation with the unmarried biological father. Such |
| 52 | order in no way confers any title or rights to the unmarried |
| 53 | biological father, nor confers illegitimate status upon the |
| 54 | minor child. |
| 55 | (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an action |
| 56 | or proceeding by an unmarried biological father for visitation |
| 57 | may not be filed more than 2 years after the child?s birth. |
| 58 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |