HB 1097

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to child support; amending s. 742.18,
3	F.S.; eliminating the requirement for a reputed father
4	seeking to disestablish paternity and terminate a child
5	support obligation to affirm that he is current on his
6	child support obligation or that any delinquency is based
7	on inability to pay; providing for relief from past due
8	child support payments; revising provision relating to
9	naming the father on a child's birth certificate to
10	conform to procedures under ch. 382, F.S.; providing an
11	effective date.
12
13	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15	Section 1.  Section 742.18, Florida Statutes, is amended to
16	read:
17	742.18  Disestablishment of paternity or termination of
18	child support obligation.--
19	(1)  This section establishes circumstances under which a
20	male may disestablish paternity or terminate a child support
21	obligation when the male is not the biological father of the
22	child. To disestablish paternity or terminate a child support
23	obligation, the reputed father male must file a petition in the
24	circuit court having jurisdiction over the child support
25	obligation. The petition must be served on the mother or other
26	legal guardian or custodian of the child. If the child support
27	obligation was determined administratively and has not been
28	ratified by a court, then the petition must be filed in the
29	circuit court where the mother or legal guardian or custodian
30	resides. The Such a petition must be served on the Department of
31	Revenue and on the mother or legal guardian or custodian of the
32	child. If the mother or legal guardian or custodian no longer
33	resides in the state, the petition may be filed in the circuit
34	court in the county where the petitioner resides. The petition
35	must include:
36	(a)  An affidavit executed by the petitioner that newly
37	discovered evidence relating to the paternity of the child has
38	come to the petitioner's knowledge since the initial paternity
39	determination or establishment of a child support obligation.
40	(b)  The results of scientific tests that are generally
41	acceptable within the scientific community to show a probability
42	of paternity, administered within 90 days prior to the filing of
43	such petition, which results indicate that the reputed father
44	male ordered to pay such child support cannot be the biological
45	father of the child for whom support is required, or an
46	affidavit executed by the petitioner stating that he did not
47	have access to the child to have scientific testing performed
48	prior to the filing of the petition. A reputed father male who
49	suspects he is not the biological father but does not have
50	access to the child to have scientific testing performed may
51	file a petition requesting the court to order the child to be
52	tested.
53	(c)  An affidavit executed by the petitioner stating that
54	the petitioner is current on all child support payments for the
55	child for whom relief is sought or that he has substantially
56	complied with his child support obligation for the applicable
57	child and that any delinquency in his child support obligation
58	for that child arose from his inability for just cause to pay
59	the delinquent child support when the delinquent child support
60	became due.
61	(2)  The court shall grant relief on a petition filed in
62	accordance with subsection (1) upon a finding by the court of
63	all of the following:
64	(a)  Newly discovered evidence relating to the paternity of
65	the child has come to the petitioner's knowledge since the
66	initial paternity determination or establishment of a child
67	support obligation.
68	(b)  The scientific test required in paragraph (1)(b) was
69	properly conducted.
70	(c)  The male ordered to pay child support is current on
71	all child support payments for the applicable child or that the
72	male ordered to pay child support has substantially complied
73	with his child support obligation for the applicable child and
74	that any delinquency in his child support obligation for that
75	child arose from his inability for just cause to pay the
76	delinquent child support when the delinquent child support
77	became due.
78	(c)(d)  The reputed father male ordered to pay child
79	support has not adopted the child.
80	(d)(e)  The child was not conceived by artificial
81	insemination while the reputed father male ordered to pay child
82	support and the child's mother were in wedlock.
83	(e)(f)  The reputed father male ordered to pay child
84	support did not act to prevent the biological father of the
85	child from asserting his paternal rights with respect to the
86	child.
87	(f)(g)  The child was younger than 18 years of age when the
88	petition was filed.
89	(3)  Notwithstanding subsection (2), a court may shall not
90	set aside the paternity determination or child support order if
91	the reputed father male engaged in the following conduct after
92	learning that he is not the biological father of the child:
93	(a)  Married the mother of the child while known as the
94	reputed father in accordance with s. 742.091 and voluntarily
95	assumed the parental obligation and duty to pay child support;
96	(b)  Acknowledged his paternity of the child in a sworn
97	statement;
98	(c)  Consented to be named as the child's biological father
99	on the child's birth certificate;
100	(d)  Voluntarily promised in writing to support the child
101	and was required to support the child based on that promise;
102	(e)  Received written notice from any state agency or any
103	court directing him to submit to scientific testing which he
104	disregarded; or
105	(f)  Signed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity as
106	provided in s. 742.10(4).
107	(4)  If In the event the petitioner fails to make the
108	requisite showing required by this section, the court shall deny
109	the petition.
110	(5)  If In the event relief is granted pursuant to this
111	section, it must address relief shall be limited to the issues
112	of prospective and past due child support payments and
113	termination of parental rights, custody, and visitation rights.
114	The petitioner's male's previous status as the child's father
115	shall continue continues to be in existence until the order
116	granting relief is rendered. All previous lawful actions taken
117	based on reliance on that status are confirmed retroactively but
118	not prospectively. This section does not shall not be construed
119	to create a cause of action to recover child support that was
120	previously paid.
121	(6)  The duty to pay child support and other legal
122	obligations for the child may shall not be suspended while the
123	petition is pending except for good cause shown. However, the
124	court may order the child support to be held in the registry of
125	the court until final determination of paternity has been made.
126	(7)(a)  In an action brought pursuant to this section, If
127	the scientific test results submitted in accordance with
128	paragraph (1)(b) are provided solely by the petitioner male
129	ordered to pay child support, the court on its own motion may,
130	and on the petition of any party shall, order the child and the
131	reputed father male ordered to pay child support to submit to
132	applicable scientific tests. The court shall provide that Such
133	scientific testing must be done within no more than 30 days
134	after the court issues its order.
135	(a)(b)  If the reputed father male ordered to pay child
136	support willfully fails to submit to scientific testing or if
137	the mother or legal guardian or custodian of the child willfully
138	fails to submit the child for testing, the court shall issue an
139	order determining the relief on the petition against the party
140	so failing to submit to scientific testing. If a party shows
141	good cause for failing to submit to testing, such failure may
142	shall not be considered willful. Nothing in This paragraph does
143	not shall prevent the child from reestablishing paternity under
144	s. 742.10.
145	(b)(c)  The party requesting applicable scientific testing
146	must shall pay any fees charged for the tests. If the custodian
147	of the child is receiving services from an administrative agency
148	in its role as an agency providing enforcement of child support
149	orders, that agency shall pay the cost of the testing if it
150	requests the test and may seek reimbursement for the fees from
151	the person against whom the court assesses the costs of the
152	action.
153	(8)  If the relief on a petition filed in accordance with
154	this section is granted, the clerk of the court shall, within 30
155	days following final disposition, forward to the Office of Vital
156	Statistics of the Department of Health a certified copy of the
157	court order or a report of the proceedings upon a form to be
158	furnished by the department, together with sufficient
159	information to enable the department to identify and, in
160	accordance with s. 382.016(1)(c), amend the child's original
161	birth certificate to remove and to enable the department to
162	prepare a new birth certificate. Upon receipt of the certified
163	copy or the report, the department shall prepare and file a new
164	birth certificate that deletes the name of the reputed father
165	male ordered to pay child support as the father of the child.
166	The certificate shall bear the same file number as the original
167	birth certificate. All other items not affected by the order
168	setting aside a determination of paternity shall be copied as on
169	the original certificate, including the date of registration and
170	filing. If the child was born in a state other than Florida, the
171	clerk shall send a copy of the report or decree to the
172	appropriate birth registration authority of the state where the
173	child was born. If the relief on a petition filed in accordance
174	with this section is granted and the mother or legal guardian or
175	custodian requests that the court change the child's surname,
176	the court may change the child's surname. If the child is a
177	minor, the court shall consider whether it is in the child's
178	best interests to grant the request to change the child's
179	surname.
180	(9)  The rendition of an order granting a petition filed
181	pursuant to this section does shall not affect the legitimacy of
182	a child born during a lawful marriage.
183	(10)  If relief on a petition filed in accordance with this
184	section is not granted, the court shall assess the costs of the
185	action and attorney's fees against the petitioner.
186	(11)  Nothing in This section does not preclude precludes
187	an individual from seeking relief from a final judgment, decree,
188	order, or proceeding pursuant to Rule 1.540, Florida Rules of
189	Civil Procedure, or from challenging a paternity determination
190	pursuant to s. 742.10(4).
191	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2008.

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