BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

                                                                                                                                             H.B. 774

                                                                                                                                          By: Dutton

                                                                                                         Juvenile Justice & Family Issues

                                                                                                       Committee Report (Unamended)

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

With better and proven methods available, genetic testing has provided Texas fathers another tool in determining paternity. These methods, in some instances, have resulted in a Texas parent being scientifically excluded as the father of a child and yet the parent has been ordered to pay child support for the child by the court. Additionally, the child's inheritance rights are still intact.

 

Nevertheless, there are no current legal alternatives available to the father to stay the child support or to even have the court respond to his scientific exclusion as the father of the child. Often the mother of the child knows that the child is not the child of either the acknowledged or  adjudicated father who is subsequently scientifically excluded. Even in cases where the mother may not know or have some uncertainty about the fatherhood of the child, there is still no process whereby the father can elect to invalidate a prior court order designating him as father of the child and requiring him to pay child support.

 

In these instances, the refusal to vacate a child support order in the face of scientific evidence, like DNA, of non-paternity places the state in the position of legalizing fraud, at best, and at worst, being a participant in a crime.  Further, the non-biological child of a man may still inherit from that man, and the man may still inherit from that non-biological child.

 

H.B.774 allows for the court to instead order a man to pay child support in an amount no greater than $100. Additionally, H.B.774 provides that a child may not inherit from a man who is not his biological father or vice versa.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. 

 

ANALYSIS

Section 1.        Amends Subchapter C, Chapter 154 of the Family Code by adding Section                                    154.134 to provide that a court may not order a man to pay child support for a                               child in an amount greater than $100 per month if the court finds that the man is                                 not the biological father of the child based on the results of genetic testing and the                    mother of the child knew the man was not the biological father of the child                           unbeknownst to the man who signed an acknowledgement of paternity or who                                     initiated  a proceeding to adjudicate paternity of the child. Subsection (a) does                              not apply to a man who voluntarily agrees to pay child support in an amount                                  greater than $100.

Section 2.        Amends Chapter II, Texas Probate Code by adding Section 40A which provides                           that a child may not inherit from or through a man, and a man may not inherit                           through a child, if a court finds that the man is not the biological father of the                          child and the mother of the child knew that the man was not the biological father                               of the child unbeknownst to the man who signed an acknowledgment of paternity                                     or initiated a proceeding to adjudicate paternity. (b) Provides that this section                                   does not apply to disposition of property by a will. (c) This section also does not                               affect the rights of inheritance of, from, or through an adopted child or an                                      adoptive father.

Section 3.        Prospective provisions applicable to Section 154.134, Family Code.

Section 4.        Prospective provisions applicable to Section 40A, Texas Probate Code.

Section 5.        This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2007.