78R13713 MCK-D
By: Dutton, Wilson H.B. No. 503
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 503:
By: Hodge C.S.H.B. No. 503
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to determinations of paternity in a suit affecting the
parent-child relationship.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 154, Family Code, is
amended by adding Section 154.015 to read as follows:
Sec. 154.015. PATERNITY TEST REQUIRED. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), a court may not render an order
requiring the payment of child support unless the court finds that:
(1) the parties have completed a genetic test to
determine parentage that complies with the requirements of
Subchapter F, Chapter 160; and
(2) based on the genetic test, the man named as the
father in the suit affecting the parent-child relationship is
rebuttably identified as the father of the child in accordance with
Section 160.505(a).
(b) If the parties to a suit affecting the parent-child
relationship in which child support is requested have not completed
a genetic test that complies with the requirements of Subchapter F,
Chapter 160, the court shall order the child, the child's mother,
and the alleged father to submit to genetic testing not later than
the 30th day after the date the order requiring genetic testing is
rendered. If an alleged father fails to submit to a genetic test
ordered under this section, the court may render an order
adjudicating the alleged father to be the father of the child and
requiring the alleged father to pay child support.
(c) Except in a Title IV-D case, the parties shall bear the
cost of the genetic test ordered under this section equally.
SECTION 2. Section 160.308(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) After the period for rescission under Section 160.307
has expired, a signatory of an acknowledgment of paternity or
denial of paternity may commence a proceeding to challenge the
acknowledgment or denial only on the basis of fraud, duress, or
material mistake of fact. The proceeding must be commenced before
the child's 18th birthday [fourth anniversary of the date the
acknowledgment or denial is filed with the bureau of vital
statistics].
SECTION 3. Section 160.607, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 160.607. TIME LIMITATION: CHILD HAVING PRESUMED
FATHER. A [(a) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b), a]
proceeding brought by a presumed father, the mother, or another
individual to adjudicate the parentage of a child having a presumed
father must [shall] be commenced before the child's 18th birthday
[not later than the fourth anniversary of the date of the birth of
the child].
[(b) A proceeding seeking to disprove the father-child
relationship between a child and the child's presumed father may be
maintained at any time if the court determines that:
[(1) the presumed father and the mother of the child
did not live together or engage in sexual intercourse with each
other during the probable time of conception; and
[(2) the presumed father never openly treated the child
as his own.]
SECTION 4. Chapter 160, Family Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter I to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER I. PROCEEDINGS TO VACATE COURT ORDER
Sec. 160.751. MOTION TO VACATE COURT ORDER. (a) A person
identified in a court order as the father of the child or the mother
of the child may file a motion requesting the court to vacate the
court order that states that the person identified in the order as
the father of the child is the father of the child identified in the
motion or that requires the person identified in the order as the
father of the child to pay child support for the child. The motion
may be filed at any time.
(b) The motion to vacate a court order must be accompanied
by a certified copy of the court order to be vacated.
Sec. 160.752. GENETIC TESTING. (a) In a proceeding under
this subchapter, the court, on application by or on behalf of either
party, or on its own motion, shall order the child, the child's
mother, and the person identified in the court order as the father
of the child to submit to genetic testing not later than the 30th
day after the date the order requiring genetic testing is rendered.
(b) Genetic testing under this section is subject to the
same procedures as genetic testing ordered under Subchapter F.
Sec. 160.753. FAILURE TO SUBMIT TO GENETIC TEST. (a) If a
mother fails to submit to a genetic test ordered under Section
160.752, the court may suspend the legal obligation of the person
identified in the court order as the father of the child to pay
child support until the mother submits to the genetic test.
(b) If the person identified in the court order as the
father of the child fails to submit to a genetic test ordered under
Section 160.752, the court may dismiss the person's motion to
vacate with prejudice.
Sec. 160.754. GROUNDS FOR VACATING ORDER. (a) Except as
otherwise provided by this section, the court shall vacate an order
described by Section 160.751 if the court finds that the person
identified in the court order as the father of the child:
(1) is not the child's adoptive parent;
(2) did not consent to assisted reproduction by his
wife under Subchapter H; and
(3) based on genetic testing, is not rebuttably
identified as the father of the child in accordance with Section
160.505.
(b) The court may not grant a motion under this section if
the court finds that at any time the person who filed the motion
knew that the person identified in the court order as the father of
the child was not the child's biological parent, and the person
identified in the court order as the father of the child:
(1) acknowledged paternity of the child in writing;
(2) consented to his name being entered as the child's
biological father on the child's birth certificate;
(3) was determined to be the child's father in a
proceeding to determine parentage;
(4) filed an acknowledgment of paternity with the
bureau of vital statistics; or
(5) otherwise admitted that he is, or acknowledges
himself as, the child's biological father.
Sec. 160.755. POSSESSION ORDER; CHILD SUPPORT ARREARAGE.
(a) If the court vacates a parentage or support order in a
proceeding under this subchapter and the moving party is also
entitled under an order to the possession of or access to the child
who is the subject of the vacated order, the court shall determine
whether the possession order should be terminated, modified, or
continued based on the best interest of the child.
(b) If the court vacates a child support order under this
subchapter and an arrearage exists under that child support order,
the court may reduce the amount of the arrearage to zero. If the
court eliminates an arrearage under this subsection, the court
shall issue an order stating that the child support obligation,
including any arrearage, is terminated.
(c) The elimination of an arrearage under a support order
that is vacated as provided by this subchapter is for purposes of
correcting a mistake and is not a retroactive modification.
Sec. 160.756. COURT COSTS. If the court does not grant the
motion to vacate a court order under this subchapter, the court
shall order the moving party to pay the costs of the action and each
opposing party's reasonable attorney's fees.
Sec. 160.757. EXPIRATION. This subchapter expires
September 1, 2005.
SECTION 5. If before implementing any provision of this Act
the Title IV-D agency determines that a waiver or authorization
from a federal agency is necessary for implementation of the change
in law made by this Act, the agency shall request the waiver or
authorization and may delay implementing that provision until the
waiver or authorization is granted.
SECTION 6. Section 154.015, Family Code, as added by this
Act, and the change in law made by this Act to Sections 160.308 and
160.607, Family Code, apply only to a suit affecting the
parent-child relationship filed on or after the effective date of
this Act. A suit affecting the parent-child relationship filed
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect on the date the suit was filed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.