Minnesota Session Laws - 1995, Regular Session

                            CHAPTER 216-H.F.No. 1105 
                  An act relating to paternity; changing certain 
                  presumptions in paternity cases; allowing husbands to 
                  join in a recognition of parentage; amending Minnesota 
                  Statutes 1994, sections 257.55, subdivision 1; 257.57, 
                  subdivision 2; and 257.75, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and 
                  by adding a subdivision. 
        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
           Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.55, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [PRESUMPTION.] A man is presumed to be the 
        biological father of a child if:  
           (a) He and the child's biological mother are or have been 
        married to each other and the child is born during the marriage, 
        or within 280 days after the marriage is terminated by death, 
        annulment, declaration of invalidity, dissolution, or divorce, 
        or after a decree of legal separation is entered by a court.  
        The presumption in this paragraph does not apply if the man has 
        joined in a recognition of parentage recognizing another man as 
        the biological father under section 257.75, subdivision 1a; 
           (b) Before the child's birth, he and the child's biological 
        mother have attempted to marry each other by a marriage 
        solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the 
        attempted marriage is or could be declared void, voidable, or 
        otherwise invalid, and, 
           (1) if the attempted marriage could be declared invalid 
        only by a court, the child is born during the attempted 
        marriage, or within 280 days after its termination by death, 
        annulment, declaration of invalidity, dissolution or divorce; or 
           (2) if the attempted marriage is invalid without a court 
        order, the child is born within 280 days after the termination 
        of cohabitation; 
           (c) After the child's birth, he and the child's biological 
        mother have married, or attempted to marry, each other by a 
        marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although 
        the attempted marriage is or could be declared void, voidable, 
        or otherwise invalid, and, 
           (1) he has acknowledged his paternity of the child in 
        writing filed with the state registrar of vital statistics; 
           (2) with his consent, he is named as the child's father on 
        the child's birth certificate; or 
           (3) he is obligated to support the child under a written 
        voluntary promise or by court order; 
           (d) While the child is under the age of majority, he 
        receives the child into his home and openly holds out the child 
        as his biological child; 
           (e) He and the child's biological mother acknowledge his 
        paternity of the child in a writing signed by both of them under 
        section 257.34 and filed with the state registrar of vital 
        statistics.  If another man is presumed under this paragraph to 
        be the child's father, acknowledgment may be effected only with 
        the written consent of the presumed father or after the 
        presumption has been rebutted; 
           (f) Evidence of statistical probability of paternity based 
        on blood testing establishes the likelihood that he is the 
        father of the child, calculated with a prior probability of no 
        more than 0.5 (50 percent), is 99 percent or greater; 
           (g) He and the child's biological mother have executed a 
        recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75 and 
        another man is presumed to be the father under this subdivision; 
        or 
           (h) He and the child's biological mother have executed a 
        recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75 and 
        another man and the child's mother have executed a recognition 
        of parentage in accordance with section 257.75. 
           Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.57, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  The child, the mother, or personal representative 
        of the child, the public authority chargeable by law with the 
        support of the child, the personal representative or a parent of 
        the mother if the mother has died or is a minor, a man alleged 
        or alleging himself to be the father, or the personal 
        representative or a parent of the alleged father if the alleged 
        father has died or is a minor may bring an action: 
           (1) at any time for the purpose of declaring the existence 
        of the father and child relationship presumed under section 
        257.55, subdivision 1, paragraph (d), (e), (f), (g), or (h), or 
        the nonexistence of the father and child relationship presumed 
        under clause (d) of that subdivision; 
           (2) for the purpose of declaring the nonexistence of the 
        father and child relationship presumed under section 257.55, 
        subdivision 1, paragraph (e) or (g), only if the action is 
        brought within three years six months after the date of the 
        execution of the declaration or recognition of parentage person 
        bringing the action obtains the results of blood or genetic 
        tests that indicate that the presumed father is not the father 
        of the child; or 
           (3) for the purpose of declaring the nonexistence of the 
        father and child relationship presumed under section 257.55, 
        subdivision 1, paragraph (f), only if the action is brought 
        within three years after the party bringing the action, or the 
        party's attorney of record, has been provided the blood test 
        results. 
           Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.75, 
        subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
           Subdivision 1.  [RECOGNITION BY PARENTS.] The mother and 
        father of a child born to a mother who was not married to the 
        child's father nor to any other man when the child was conceived 
        nor when the child was born may, in a writing signed by both of 
        them before a notary public and filed with the state registrar 
        of vital statistics, state and acknowledge under oath that they 
        are the biological parents of the child and wish to be 
        recognized as the biological parents.  The recognition must be 
        in the form prepared by the commissioner of human services under 
        subdivision 5, except that it may also include the joinder in 
        recognition provisions under subdivision 1a.  The requirement 
        that the mother not be married when the child was conceived nor 
        when the child was born does not apply if her husband or former 
        husband joins in the recognition under subdivision 1a. 
           Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.75, is 
        amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
           Subd. 1a.  [JOINDER IN RECOGNITION BY HUSBAND.] A man who 
        is a presumed father under section 257.55, subdivision 1, 
        paragraph (a), may join in a recognition of parentage that 
        recognizes that another man is the child's biological father.  
        The man who is the presumed father under section 257.55, 
        subdivision 1, paragraph (a), must sign an acknowledgment under 
        oath before a notary public that he is renouncing the 
        presumption under section 257.55, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), 
        and recognizing that the father who is executing the recognition 
        under subdivision 1 is the biological father of the child.  A 
        joinder in a recognition under this subdivision must be executed 
        within one year after the child's birth and at the same time as 
        the recognition under subdivision 1 or within ten days following 
        execution of the recognition.  The joinder must be included in 
        the recognition form or incorporated by reference within the 
        recognition and attached to the form when it is filed with the 
        state registrar of vital statistics.  The joinder must be on a 
        form prepared by the commissioner of human services.  Failure to 
        properly execute a joinder in a recognition does not affect the 
        validity of the recognition under subdivision 1. 
           Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.75, 
        subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 2.  [REVOCATION OF RECOGNITION.] A recognition may be 
        revoked in a writing signed by the mother or father before a 
        notary public and filed with the state registrar of vital 
        statistics within 30 days after the recognition is executed.  A 
        joinder in a recognition may be revoked in a writing signed by 
        the man who executed the joinder and filed with the state 
        registrar of vital statistics within 30 days after the joinder 
        is executed.  Upon receipt of a revocation of the recognition of 
        parentage or joinder in a recognition, the state registrar of 
        vital statistics shall forward a copy of the revocation to the 
        nonrevoking parent, or, in the case of a joinder in a 
        recognition, to the mother and father who executed the 
        recognition. 
           Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.75, 
        subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
           Subd. 4.  [ACTION TO VACATE RECOGNITION.] An action to 
        vacate a recognition of paternity may be brought by the mother, 
        father, husband or former husband who executed a joinder, or the 
        child.  A mother or, father, or husband or former husband who 
        executed a joinder must bring the action within one year of the 
        execution of the recognition or within six months after 
        discovery of evidence in support of the action, whichever is 
        later the person bringing the action obtains the results of 
        blood or genetic tests that indicate that the man who executed 
        the recognition is not the father of the child.  A child must 
        bring an action to vacate within six months of discovery of 
        evidence, in support of the action after the child obtains the 
        result of blood or genetic tests that indicate that the man who 
        executed the recognition is not the father of the child, or 
        within one year of reaching the age of majority, whichever is 
        later.  If the court finds a prima facie basis for vacating the 
        recognition, the court shall order the child, mother, and father 
        , and husband or former husband who executed a joinder to submit 
        to blood tests.  If the court issues an order for the taking of 
        blood tests, the court shall require the party seeking to vacate 
        the recognition to make advance payment for the costs of the 
        blood tests.  If the party fails to pay for the costs of the 
        blood tests, the court shall dismiss the action to vacate with 
        prejudice.  The court may also order the party seeking to vacate 
        the recognition to pay the other party's reasonable attorney 
        fees, costs, and disbursements.  If the results of the blood 
        tests establish that the man who executed the recognition is not 
        the father, the court shall vacate the recognition.  If a 
        recognition is vacated, any joinder in the recognition under 
        subdivision 1a is also vacated.  The court shall terminate the 
        obligation of a party to pay ongoing child support based on the 
        recognition.  A modification of child support based on a 
        recognition may be made retroactive with respect to any period 
        during which the moving party has pending a motion to vacate the 
        recognition but only from the date of service of notice of the 
        motion on the responding party. 
           Sec. 7.  [APPLICATION; TRANSITION.] 
           (a) Notwithstanding section 2, a person whose action to 
        declare the existence of the father and child relationship would 
        be barred by section 2 but not by Minnesota Statutes 1994, 
        section 257.57, subdivision 2, clause (2), has until August 1, 
        1996, or until three years after the date of execution of the 
        declaration or recognition of parentage, whichever is sooner, to 
        bring an action to declare the nonexistence of the father and 
        child relationship presumed under Minnesota Statutes, section 
        257.55, subdivision 1, paragraph (e) or (g). 
           (b) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a person whose 
        action to declare the nonexistence of the father and child 
        relationship presumed under Minnesota Statutes, section 257.55, 
        subdivision 1, paragraph (e), or a person whose motion to vacate 
        a paternity adjudication because of the results of blood or 
        genetic tests obtained after the adjudication, was barred before 
        the effective date of section 2, has until February 1, 1996, to 
        commence the action or bring a motion to vacate the paternity 
        adjudication. 
           Presented to the governor May 22, 1995 
           Signed by the governor May 24, 1995, 10:15 a.m.