HF 1857

1st Engrossment - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to paternity; changing certain presumptions; 
  1.3             amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, sections 257.55, 
  1.4             subdivision 1; 257.57, subdivision 2; 257.62, 
  1.5             subdivision 5. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 257.55, 
  1.8   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [PRESUMPTION.] A man is presumed to be the 
  1.10  biological father of a child if:  
  1.11     (a) He and the child's biological mother are or have been 
  1.12  married to each other and the child is born during the marriage, 
  1.13  or within 280 days after the marriage is terminated by death, 
  1.14  annulment, declaration of invalidity, dissolution, or divorce, 
  1.15  or after a decree of legal separation is entered by a court.  
  1.16  The presumption in this paragraph does not apply if the man has 
  1.17  joined in a recognition of parentage recognizing another man as 
  1.18  the biological father under section 257.75, subdivision 1a; 
  1.19     (b) Before the child's birth, he and the child's biological 
  1.20  mother have attempted to marry each other by a marriage 
  1.21  solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the 
  1.22  attempted marriage is or could be declared void, voidable, or 
  1.23  otherwise invalid, and, 
  1.24     (1) if the attempted marriage could be declared invalid 
  1.25  only by a court, the child is born during the attempted 
  2.1   marriage, or within 280 days after its termination by death, 
  2.2   annulment, declaration of invalidity, dissolution or divorce; or 
  2.3      (2) if the attempted marriage is invalid without a court 
  2.4   order, the child is born within 280 days after the termination 
  2.5   of cohabitation; 
  2.6      (c) After the child's birth, he and the child's biological 
  2.7   mother have married, or attempted to marry, each other by a 
  2.8   marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although 
  2.9   the attempted marriage is or could be declared void, voidable, 
  2.10  or otherwise invalid, and, 
  2.11     (1) he has acknowledged his paternity of the child in 
  2.12  writing filed with the state registrar of vital statistics; 
  2.13     (2) with his consent, he is named as the child's father on 
  2.14  the child's birth record; or 
  2.15     (3) he is obligated to support the child under a written 
  2.16  voluntary promise or by court order; 
  2.17     (d) While the child is under the age of majority, he 
  2.18  receives the child into his home During the first two years of 
  2.19  the child's life, he resided in the same household with the 
  2.20  child for at least 12 months and openly holds held out the child 
  2.21  as his biological child own; 
  2.22     (e) He and the child's biological mother acknowledge his 
  2.23  paternity of the child in a writing signed by both of them under 
  2.24  section 257.34 and filed with the state registrar of vital 
  2.25  statistics.  If another man is presumed under this paragraph to 
  2.26  be the child's father, acknowledgment may be effected only with 
  2.27  the written consent of the presumed father or after the 
  2.28  presumption has been rebutted; 
  2.29     (f) Evidence of statistical probability of paternity based 
  2.30  on blood or genetic testing establishes the likelihood that he 
  2.31  is the father of the child, calculated with a prior probability 
  2.32  of no more than 0.5 (50 percent), is 99 percent or greater; 
  2.33     (g) He and the child's biological mother have executed a 
  2.34  recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75 and 
  2.35  another man is presumed to be the father under this subdivision; 
  2.36     (h) (g) He and the child's biological mother have executed 
  3.1   a recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75 and 
  3.2   another man and the child's mother have executed a recognition 
  3.3   of parentage in accordance with section 257.75; or 
  3.4      (i) (h) He and the child's biological mother executed a 
  3.5   recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75 when 
  3.6   either or both of the signatories were less than 18 years of age.
  3.7      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 257.57, 
  3.8   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.9      Subd. 2.  [ACTIONS UNDER OTHER PARAGRAPHS OF SECTION 
  3.10  257.55, SUBDIVISION 1.] The child, the mother, or personal 
  3.11  representative of the child, the public authority chargeable by 
  3.12  law with the support of the child, the personal representative 
  3.13  or a parent of the mother if the mother has died or is a minor, 
  3.14  a man alleged or alleging himself to be the father, or the 
  3.15  personal representative or a parent of the alleged father if the 
  3.16  alleged father has died or is a minor may bring an action: 
  3.17     (1) at any time for the purpose of declaring the existence 
  3.18  of the father and child relationship presumed under section 
  3.19  sections 257.55, subdivision 1, paragraph (d), (e), (f), (g), or 
  3.20  (h), and 257.62, subdivision 5, paragraph (b), or the 
  3.21  nonexistence of the father and child relationship presumed under 
  3.22  section 257.55, subdivision 1, clause (d) of that subdivision; 
  3.23     (2) for the purpose of declaring the nonexistence of the 
  3.24  father and child relationship presumed under section 257.55, 
  3.25  subdivision 1, paragraph (e) or (g), only if the action is 
  3.26  brought within six months after the person bringing the action 
  3.27  obtains the results of blood or genetic tests that indicate that 
  3.28  the presumed father is not the father of the child; 
  3.29     (3) for the purpose of declaring the nonexistence of the 
  3.30  father and child relationship presumed under section 257.55, 
  3.31  subdivision 1, paragraph (f) 257.62, subdivision 5, paragraph 
  3.32  (b), only if the action is brought within three years after the 
  3.33  party bringing the action, or the party's attorney of record, 
  3.34  has been provided the blood or genetic test results; or 
  3.35     (4) for the purpose of declaring the nonexistence of the 
  3.36  father and child relationship presumed under section 257.75, 
  4.1   subdivision 9, only if the action is brought by the minor 
  4.2   signatory within six months after the minor signatory reaches 
  4.3   the age of 18.  In the case of a recognition of parentage 
  4.4   executed by two minor signatories, the action to declare the 
  4.5   nonexistence of the father and child relationship must be 
  4.6   brought within six months after the youngest signatory reaches 
  4.7   the age of 18. 
  4.8      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 257.62, 
  4.9   subdivision 5, is amended to read: 
  4.10     Subd. 5.  [POSITIVE TEST RESULTS.] (a) If the results of 
  4.11  blood or genetic tests completed in a laboratory accredited by 
  4.12  the American Association of Blood Banks indicate that the 
  4.13  likelihood of the alleged father's paternity, calculated with a 
  4.14  prior probability of no more than 0.5 (50 percent), is 92 
  4.15  percent or greater, upon motion the court shall order the 
  4.16  alleged father to pay temporary child support determined 
  4.17  according to chapter 518.  The alleged father shall pay the 
  4.18  support money to the public authority if the public authority is 
  4.19  a party and is providing services to the parties or, if not, 
  4.20  into court pursuant to the Rules of Civil Procedure to await the 
  4.21  results of the paternity proceedings.  
  4.22     (b) If the results of blood or genetic tests completed in a 
  4.23  laboratory accredited by the American Association of Blood Banks 
  4.24  indicate that likelihood of the alleged father's paternity, 
  4.25  calculated with a prior probability of no more than 0.5 (50 
  4.26  percent), is 99 percent or greater, there is an evidentiary 
  4.27  presumption that the alleged father is presumed to be the parent 
  4.28  and the party opposing the establishment of the alleged father's 
  4.29  paternity has the burden of proving by clear and convincing 
  4.30  evidence that the alleged father is not the father of the child.