January 22, 2009, Introduced by Rep. Lemmons and referred to the Committee on Families and Children's Services.
A bill to amend 1982 PA 295, entitled
"Support and parenting time enforcement act,"
(MCL 552.601 to 552.650) by adding section 5f.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 5f. (1) An individual may file a motion for relief from a
court order that states that the individual is a child's father or
that requires the individual to pay child support. Except as
otherwise provided in this section, the court shall vacate the
order stating that the individual is the child's father or
terminate the child support order if the court finds both of the
following:
(a) The individual is not the child's adoptive father.
(b) Genetic testing results admitted into evidence exclude the
individual as the child's father.
(2) The court shall not grant a motion under subsection (1) if
the court finds that the individual who filed the motion knew of
genetic testing results that excluded the individual as the child's
parent more than 6 months before the motion was filed and the
individual cannot show good cause for the failure to file the
motion within 6 months after obtaining the test results.
(3) The court shall not grant a motion under subsection (1) if
the court finds that, after the individual who filed the motion
knows that he is not the child's biological parent, any of the
following occur:
(a) The individual acknowledges paternity of the child in
writing.
(b) The individual consents to his name being entered as the
child's biological father on the child's birth certificate.
(c) The individual is determined to be the child's father in
an action under the paternity act, 1956 PA 205, MCL 722.711 to
722.730.
(d) The state registrar files an acknowledgment of parentage
in which the individual declares himself to be the child's
biological father.
(e) The individual otherwise admits that he is, or
acknowledges himself as, the child's biological father.
(4) An individual shall file a motion under subsection (1)
with the court that issued the order from which the individual
seeks relief.
(5) In a proceeding under this section, the court, on
application made by or on behalf of either party or on its own
motion, shall order the child, the child's mother, and the
individual who filed the motion under subsection (1) to submit to
genetic testing within 30 days after the order requiring genetic
testing is issued. Genetic testing under this section is subject to
the same procedures as genetic testing ordered under section 6 of
the paternity act, 1956 PA 205, MCL 722.716.
(6) If the court grants a motion under subsection (1), and the
individual who filed the motion and child are also the subjects of
a parenting time order, the court shall determine whether to
terminate, modify, or continue the parenting time order based upon
the best interests of the child. If the court grants a motion under
subsection (1) to terminate a child support order and an arrearage
exists under that order, the court may retroactively modify the
arrearage.
(7) If the court grants a motion under subsection (1), the
court shall order the child's mother to reimburse the individual
who filed the motion for all child support payments that the
individual has previously paid to her.
(8) If a motion under subsection (1) is denied, the court
shall order the individual who filed the motion to pay the costs of
the action and each opposing party's reasonable attorney fees.
(9) As used in this section, "genetic testing" means blood or
tissue typing or DNA identification profiling as described in and
prescribed by the paternity act, 1956 PA 205, MCL 722.711 to
722.730.