HB 7151

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to the welfare of children; permitting a
3petition to set aside a determination of paternity or
4terminate a child support obligation; specifying contents
5of the petition; providing standards upon which relief
6shall be granted; providing remedies; prohibiting the
7suspension of child support obligations while a petition
8is pending; providing for scientific testing; providing
9for the amendment of the child's birth certificate;
10providing for assessment of costs and attorney's fees;
11amending s. 63.054, F.S.; requiring a petitioner in a
12proceeding for termination of parental rights to provide
13notice to the Office of Vital Statistics of the Department
14of Health; prohibiting the office from recording a claim
15of paternity after the date that a termination of parental
16rights is filed; requiring the department to remove a
17registrant's name from the Florida Putative Father
18Registry upon a finding that the registrant has no
19parental rights; amending s. 63.062, F.S.; modifying
20consent required for adoption; amending s. 63.182, F.S.;
21providing that the interest that entitles a person to
22notice of an adoption must be direct, financial, and
23immediate; providing an exception; providing that a
24showing of an indirect, inconsequential, or contingent
25interest is wholly inadequate; providing construction and
26applicability; providing an effective date.
27
28Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30     Section 1.  (1)  This section establishes circumstances
31under which a male may disestablish paternity or terminate a
32child support obligation when the male is not the biological
33father of the child. To disestablish paternity or terminate a
34child support obligation, the male must file a petition in the
35circuit court having jurisdiction over the child support
36obligation. The petition must be served on the mother or other
37legal guardian or custodian of the child. If the child support
38obligation was determined administratively and has not been
39ratified by a court, then the petition must be filed in the
40circuit court where the mother or legal guardian or custodian
41resides. Such a petition must be served on the Department of
42Revenue and on the mother or legal guardian or custodian. If the
43mother or legal guardian or custodian no longer resides in the
44state, the petition may be filed in the circuit court in the
45county where the petitioner resides. The petition must include:
46     (a)  An affidavit executed by the petitioner that newly
47discovered evidence relating to the paternity of the child has
48come to the petitioner's knowledge since the initial paternity
49determination or establishment of a child support obligation.
50     (b)  The results of scientific tests that are generally
51acceptable within the scientific community to show a probability
52of paternity, administered within 90 days prior to the filing of
53such petition, which results indicate that the male ordered to
54pay such child support cannot be the father of the child for
55whom support is required, or an affidavit executed by the
56petitioner stating that he did not have access to the child to
57have scientific testing performed prior to the filing of the
58petition. A male who suspects he is not the father but does not
59have access to the child to have scientific testing performed
60may file a petition requesting the court to order the child to
61be tested.
62     (c)  An affidavit executed by the petitioner stating that
63the petitioner is current on all child support payments for the
64child for whom relief is sought or that he has substantially
65complied with his child support obligation for the applicable
66child and that any delinquency in his child support obligation
67for that child arose from his inability for just cause to pay
68the delinquent child support when the delinquent child support
69became due.
70     (2)  The court shall grant relief on a petition filed in
71accordance with subsection (1) upon a finding by the court of
72all of the following:
73     (a)  Newly discovered evidence relating to the paternity of
74the child has come to the petitioner's knowledge since the
75initial paternity determination or establishment of a child
76support obligation.
77     (b)  The scientific test required in paragraph (1)(b) was
78properly conducted.
79     (c)  The male ordered to pay child support is current on
80all child support payments for the applicable child or that the
81male ordered to pay child support has substantially complied
82with his child support obligation for the applicable child and
83that any delinquency in his child support obligation for that
84child arose from his inability for just cause to pay the
85delinquent child support when the delinquent child support
86became due.
87     (d)  The male ordered to pay child support has not adopted
88the child.
89     (e)  The child was not conceived by artificial insemination
90while the male ordered to pay child support and the child's
91mother were in wedlock.
92     (f)  The male ordered to pay child support did not act to
93prevent the biological father of the child from asserting his
94paternal rights with respect to the child.
95     (g)  The child was younger than 18 years of age when the
96petition was filed.
97     (3)  Notwithstanding subsection (2), a court shall not set
98aside the paternity determination or child support order if the
99male engaged in the following conduct after learning that he is
100not the biological father of the child:
101     1.  Married the mother of the child while known as the
102reputed father in accordance with s. 742.091, Florida Statutes,
103and voluntarily assumed the parental obligation and duty to pay
104child support;
105     2.  Acknowledged his paternity of the child in a sworn
106statement;
107     3.  Consented to be named as the child's biological father
108on the child's birth certificate;
109     4.  Voluntarily promised in writing to support the child
110and was required to support the child based on that promise;
111     5.  Received written notice from any state agency or any
112court directing him to submit to scientific testing which he
113disregarded; or
114     6.  Signed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity as
115provided in s. 742.10(4), Florida Statutes.
116     (4)  In the event the petitioner fails to make the
117requisite showing required by this section, the court shall deny
118the petition.
119     (5)  In the event relief is granted pursuant to this
120section, relief shall be limited to the issues of prospective
121child support payments and termination of parental rights,
122custody, and visitation rights. The male's previous status as
123father continues to be in existence until the order granting
124relief is rendered. All previous lawful actions taken based on
125reliance on that status are confirmed retroactively but not
126prospectively. This section shall not be construed to create a
127cause of action to recover child support that was previously
128paid.
129     (6)  The duty to pay child support and other legal
130obligations for the child shall not be suspended while the
131petition is pending except for good cause shown. However, the
132court may order the child support to be held in the registry of
133the court until final determination of paternity has been made.
134     (7)(a)  In an action brought pursuant to this section, if
135the scientific test results submitted in accordance with
136paragraph (1)(b) are provided solely by the male ordered to pay
137child support, the court on its own motion may, and on the
138petition of any party shall, order the child and the male
139ordered to pay child support to submit to applicable scientific
140tests. The court shall provide that such scientific testing be
141done no more than 30 days after the court issues its order.
142     (b)  If the male ordered to pay child support willfully
143fails to submit to scientific testing or if the mother or legal
144guardian or custodian of the child willfully fails to submit the
145child for testing, the court shall issue an order determining
146the relief on the petition against the party so failing to
147submit to scientific testing. If a party shows good cause for
148failing to submit to testing, such failure shall not be
149considered willful. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the
150child from reestablishing paternity under s. 742.10, Florida
151Statutes.
152     (c)  The party requesting applicable scientific testing
153shall pay any fees charged for the tests. If the custodian of
154the child is receiving services from an administrative agency in
155its role as an agency providing enforcement of child support
156orders, that agency shall pay the cost of the testing if it
157requests the test and may seek reimbursement for the fees from
158the person against whom the court assesses the costs of the
159action.
160     (8)  If the relief on a petition filed in accordance with
161this section is granted, the clerk of the court shall, within 30
162days following final disposition, forward to the Office of Vital
163Statistics of the Department of Health a certified copy of the
164court order or a report of the proceedings upon a form to be
165furnished by the department, together with sufficient
166information to identify the original birth certificate and to
167enable the department to prepare a new birth certificate. Upon
168receipt of the certified copy or the report, the department
169shall prepare and file a new birth certificate that deletes the
170name of the male ordered to pay child support as the father of
171the child. The certificate shall bear the same file number as
172the original birth certificate. All other items not affected by
173the order setting aside a determination of paternity shall be
174copied as on the original certificate, including the date of
175registration and filing. If the child was born in a state other
176than Florida, the clerk shall send a copy of the report or
177decree to the appropriate birth registration authority of the
178state where the child was born. If the relief on a petition
179filed in accordance with this section is granted and the mother
180or legal guardian or custodian requests that the court change
181the child's surname, the court may change the child's surname.
182If the child is a minor, the court shall consider whether it is
183in the child's best interests to grant the request to change the
184child's surname.
185     (9)  The rendition of an order granting a petition filed
186pursuant to this section shall not affect the legitimacy of a
187child born during a lawful marriage.
188     (10)  If relief on a petition filed in accordance with this
189section is not granted, the court shall assess the costs of the
190action and attorney's fees against the petitioner.
191     (11)  Nothing in this section precludes an individual from
192seeking relief from a final judgment, decree, order, or
193proceeding pursuant to Rule 1.540, Florida Rules of Civil
194Procedure, or from challenging a paternity determination
195pursuant to s. 742.10(4), Florida Statutes.
196     Section 2.  Subsections (1) and (5) of section 63.054,
197Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
198     63.054  Actions required by an unmarried biological father
199to establish parental rights; Florida Putative Father
200Registry.--
201     (1)  In order to preserve the right to notice and consent
202to an adoption under this chapter, an unmarried biological
203father must, as the "registrant," file a notarized claim of
204paternity form with the Florida Putative Father Registry
205maintained by the Office of Vital Statistics of the Department
206of Health and shall include therein confirmation of his
207willingness and intent to support the child for whom paternity
208is claimed in accordance with state law. The claim of paternity
209may be filed at any time prior to the child's birth, but a claim
210of paternity may not be filed after the date a petition is filed
211for termination of parental rights. In each proceeding for
212termination of parental rights, the petitioner shall submit to
213the Office of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health a
214copy of the petition for termination of parental rights. The
215Office of Vital Statistics of the Department of Health shall not
216record a claim of paternity after the date that a petition for
217termination of parental rights is filed.
218     (5)  The registrant may, at any time prior to the birth of
219the child for whom paternity is claimed, execute a notarized
220written revocation of the claim of paternity previously filed
221with the Florida Putative Father Registry, and upon receipt of
222such revocation, the claim of paternity shall be deemed null and
223void. If a court determines that a registrant is not the father
224of the minor or has no parental rights, the court shall order
225the Department of Health to remove the registrant's name from
226the registry.
227     Section 3.  Subsection (4) of section 63.062, Florida
228Statutes, is amended to read:
229     63.062  Persons required to consent to adoption; affidavit
230of nonpaternity; waiver of venue.--
231     (4)  Any person whose consent is required under paragraph
232(1)(b), or any other man, paragraphs (1)(c)-(e) may execute an
233irrevocable affidavit of nonpaternity in lieu of a consent under
234this section and by doing so waives notice to all court
235proceedings after the date of execution. An affidavit of
236nonpaternity must be executed as provided in s. 63.082. The
237affidavit of nonpaternity may be executed prior to the birth of
238the child. The person executing the affidavit must receive
239disclosure under s. 63.085 prior to signing the affidavit.
240     Section 4.  Section 63.182, Florida Statutes, is amended to
241read:
242     63.182  Statute of repose.--
243     (1)  Notwithstanding s. 95.031 or s. 95.11 or any other
244statute, an action or proceeding of any kind to vacate, set
245aside, or otherwise nullify a judgment of adoption or an
246underlying judgment terminating parental rights on any ground
247may not be filed more than 1 year after entry of the judgment
248terminating parental rights.
249     (2)(a)  Except for the specific persons expressly entitled
250to be given notice of an adoption in accordance with this
251chapter, the interest that entitles a person to notice of an
252adoption must be direct, financial, and immediate and the person
253must show that he or she will gain or lose by the direct legal
254operation and effect of the judgment. A showing of an indirect,
255inconsequential, or contingent interest is wholly inadequate and
256a person with this indirect interest lacks standing to set aside
257a judgment of adoption.
258     (b)  This subsection is remedial and shall apply to all
259adoptions, including those in which a judgment of adoption has
260already been entered.
261     Section 5.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.