HOUSE BILL No. 4061

 

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.