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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to establishment of paternity; 2
creating s. 742.092, F.S.; creating a presumption of a 3
legal father; authorizing certain persons to rebut 4
such presumption by filing a petition to determine 5
paternity; providing requirements for a petition to 6
determine paternity; requiring the court to appoint a 7
guardian ad litem or attorney ad litem under certain 8
circumstances; providing requirements for guardians ad 9
litem; requiring the court to hold an evidentiary 10
hearing on the petition; providing a burden of proof; 11
requiring the court to consider certain factors when 12
determining whether to allow a petition to proceed; 13
requiring certain persons to submit to genetic testing 14
if a petition is allowed to proceed; providing 15
requirements for the order for scientif ic testing; 16
requiring the genetic test results, along with the 17
opinions and conclusions of the qualified technical 18
laboratory, to be filed with the court within a 19
specified timeframe; creating a rebuttable 20
presumption; requiring the court to dismiss the 21
petition and seal the court file under certain 22
circumstances; requiring written objections to genetic 23
test results to be filed within a certain time frame; 24
requiring an evidentiary hearing, at which certain 25
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experts may testify, if an objection to the test 26
results is filed; requiring additional testing under 27
certain circumstances; requiring the court to hold a 28
trial for certain purposes under certain 29
circumstances; requiring the court to consider certain 30
factors when determining the best interests of a child 31
at trial; providing requirements for the court's final 32
order or judgment; authorizing the court to approve, 33
grant, or modify a parenting plan, even if the child 34
is not physically present in the state; requiring the 35
court to consider certain factors when app roving, 36
establishing, or modifying a parenting plan; providing 37
parenting plan requirements; authorizing the court to 38
enter an order for the payment of child support; 39
providing requirements for the calculation of such 40
child support; authorizing the court to modify a 41
parenting plan, time -sharing schedule, or child 42
support order upon a showing of a substantial change 43
in circumstances; providing construction; amending s. 44
61.046, F.S.; conforming cross -references; providing 45
an effective date. 46
47
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 48
49
Section 1. Section 742.092, Florida Statutes, is created 50
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to read: 51
742.092 Establishment of paternity. — 52
(1) A man is presumed to be the legal father of a child 53
if, at the time of the child's conception or birth, he was 54
married to the child's biological mother or if parentage has 55
otherwise been established under s. 742.091, s. 742.10, or s. 56
742.105. 57
(2) A child, the child's biological mother, or a man who 58
has a reasonable and well -founded belief that he i s the child's 59
biological father may rebut the presumption established in 60
subsection (1) by filing a petition in circuit court to 61
determine the paternity of the child. The petition must meet all 62
of the following requirements: 63
(a) Be signed by the petition er under oath. 64
(b) Identify as parties the child's biological mother, the 65
child's legal father, the child's alleged biological father, and 66
any other person who may be the child's legal parent. 67
(c) Allege specific facts to support a claim that the 68
alleged biological father is the child's actual biological 69
father, that the alleged biological father has manifested a 70
substantial and continuing concern for the welfare of the child, 71
and that it is in the best interests of the child to establish 72
the alleged biological father as a legal parent of the child. 73
(3)(a) In a proceeding to establish paternity under this 74
section, the court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the 75
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child unless good cause is shown that a guardian ad litem is not 76
necessary to protect th e best interests of the child. A person 77
appointed as a guardian ad litem must meet the qualifications 78
and maintain confidentiality as provided under ss. 61.402 and 79
61.404, respectively; has the powers and authorities specified 80
under s. 61.403; and is immun e from liability as provided under 81
s. 61.405. 82
(b) If the court determines that the child is of 83
sufficient age and maturity to participate in the proceedings, 84
the court must appoint an attorney ad litem for the child in 85
lieu of a guardian ad litem, unless good cause is shown that an 86
attorney ad litem is not necessary to protect the best interests 87
of the child. 88
(4)(a) The court shall hold an evidentiary hearing on the 89
petition to determine paternity, at which the petitioner has the 90
burden of producing cle ar and convincing evidence that the 91
alleged biological father has manifested a substantial and 92
continuing concern for the welfare of the child and that the 93
best interests of the child would be served by allowing the 94
petition to proceed. 95
(b) In making its determination on whether to allow the 96
petition to proceed, the court shall give weight to all of the 97
following: 98
1. Whether the biological mother is deceased or 99
incapacitated. 100
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2. Whether the biological mother is seeking or has 101
obtained a dissolution of her marriage to the presumed legal 102
father. 103
3. Whether the legal father seeks to maintain his presumed 104
status as the legal father of the child. 105
(c) If the court finds that the alleged biological father 106
has not manifested a substantial and continuing concern for the 107
welfare of the child or that the child's best interests would 108
not be served by allowing the petition to proceed, the court 109
must dismiss the petition with prejudice and seal the court 110
file. 111
(5)(a) If a petition to determine paternity is al lowed to 112
proceed after the evidentiary hearing pursuant to subsection 113
(4), the child and alleged biological father must submit to 114
genetic testing conducted by a qualified technical laboratory, 115
as defined in s. 409.256(1), to determine the probability of 116
parentage. In the order for genetic testing, the court must 117
inform each person who is required to be tested of the 118
procedures and requirements for objecting to the genetic test 119
results and the consequences for failing to object. 120
(b) The alleged biological father must file the genetic 121
test results, together with the opinions and conclusions of the 122
qualified technical laboratory, with the court no later than 15 123
days after the alleged biological father receives the test 124
results from the laboratory. The test re sults are admissible in 125
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evidence and must be weighed along with any other evidence of 126
parentage of the alleged biological father, unless the 127
statistical probability of parentage from the genetic test 128
results equals or exceeds 95 percent. A statistical prob ability 129
of parentage of 95 percent or more creates a rebuttable 130
presumption, as defined in s. 90.304, that the alleged 131
biological father is the actual biological father of the child. 132
(c) If the genetic test results indicate that the alleged 133
biological father is not the actual biological father of the 134
child, the court must dismiss the petition and seal the court 135
file. 136
(6) An objection to the genetic test results must be made 137
in writing and filed with the court within 30 days after the 138
test results are filed or as otherwise specified by the court. 139
(a) If an objection is filed, the court must hold an 140
evidentiary hearing. At the evidentiary hearing, a party may 141
call an outside expert to refute or support the genetic testing 142
procedures or results, or the m athematical theory on which such 143
results are based. If the test results or the expert analysis of 144
the inherited characteristics is disputed, the court, upon 145
reasonable request of a party, must order that an additional 146
test be made by the same laboratory or an independent laboratory 147
at the expense of the party requesting the additional testing. 148
(b) If an objection to the genetic test results is not 149
filed, the test results may be admitted into evidence without 150
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the need for predicate to be laid or third -party foundation 151
testimony to be presented. 152
(7) If an objection to the genetic testing is not filed, a 153
party fails to rebut the presumption of paternity established 154
under paragraph (5)(b), or the genetic testing establishes that 155
the alleged biological father is the actual biological father of 156
the child, the court must enter a summary judgment of paternity 157
and hold a trial to determine: 158
(a) If the husband of the child's biological mother should 159
remain the sole legal father of the child based on the best 160
interests of the child; 161
(b) If the parentage and the legal rights, 162
responsibilities, and obligations of the husband of the child's 163
biological mother should be terminated and granted to the 164
biological father; or 165
(c) If the child's biological mother, mother' s husband, 166
and biological father should share parentage and the legal 167
rights, responsibilities, and obligations of the child. 168
(8) At trial, the court must determine the best interests 169
of the child by evaluating all of the factors affecting the 170
welfare and interests of the particular child and the 171
circumstances of the family, including, but not limited to: 172
(a) The established bond between the child and the 173
biological mother's husband. 174
(b) The established bond between the child and the 175
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biological father. 176
(c) The permanency and stability of the child's current 177
family unit, including the length of time the child has lived in 178
a satisfactory environment and the desirability to maintain 179
continuity or create stability for the child. 180
(d) The capacity and di sposition of the biological 181
mother's husband and the biological father to provide for the 182
child's financial needs. 183
(e) The moral fitness of the biological mother's husband 184
and the biological father. 185
(f) The mental and physical health of the biological 186
mother's husband and the biological father. 187
(g) The home, school, and community record of the child. 188
(h) The reasonable preference of the child, if the court 189
deems the child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding, 190
and experience to express a p reference. 191
(i) Evidence that the biological mother's husband or the 192
biological father has abandoned, abused, or neglected the child, 193
or has otherwise been remiss in his responsibilities for the 194
child. 195
(j) Evidence that the biological mother's husband o r the 196
biological father has ever acted contrary to the best interests 197
of the child. 198
(k) Evidence that the biological mother's husband or the 199
biological father wishes to exercise or continue to exercise his 200
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parental rights. 201
(l) If the biological mother of the child is deceased or 202
incapacitated. 203
(m) If the biological mother of the child is seeking or 204
has obtained a dissolution of marriage from her husband. 205
(n) Any other factor that the court deems relevant. 206
(9)(a) If the court determines that it is in the best 207
interests of the child for the biological mother's husband to 208
remain the legal father of the child to the exclusion of the 209
biological father, the court must enter a final order or 210
judgment denying the petition to determine paternity and seal 211
the court file. 212
(b) If the court determines that it is in the best 213
interests of the child for the parental rights of the biological 214
mother's husband to be terminated and the biological father to 215
be the legal father of the child, the court must enter a fina l 216
order or judgment that does both of the following: 217
1. Terminates the parental rights and responsibilities of 218
the biological mother's husband, declaring that the biological 219
father is the legal father of the child, and specifying the 220
biological father's rights, responsibilities, and obligations, 221
including, but not limited to, time -sharing and child support. 222
2. Requires that the biological father's name be 223
substituted on the child's birth certificate and the name of the 224
biological mother's husband be rem oved. 225
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(c) If the court determines that the biological mother's 226
husband and the biological father each have established a 227
substantial relationship with the child and that it is in the 228
best interests of the child for both men to be the child's legal 229
father, the court must enter a final order or judgment that does 230
all of the following: 231
1. Preserves the parental and legal rights of the 232
biological mother's husband. 233
2. Establishes the biological father's legal rights, 234
responsibilities, and obligations as th e child's third legal 235
parent. 236
3. Requires the Office of Vital Statistics of the 237
Department of Health to amend the child's birth certificate to 238
add the biological father's name as the third legal parent of 239
the child. 240
4. Declares that each legal parent i s recognized as an 241
equal parent to the child and has equal standing to secure 242
shared parenting rights to time -sharing, parental 243
responsibility, and child support. 244
(10) The court may approve, establish, or modify a 245
parenting plan, as defined in s. 61.046, in a final order or 246
judgment entered pursuant to paragraph (9)(b) or paragraph 247
(9)(c). The parenting plan must be developed and agreed to by 248
all legal parents and approved by the court or established by 249
the court if all legal parents cannot agree to a pla n or all 250
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legal parents agreed to a plan that is not approved by the 251
court. 252
(a) The court must consider the factors listed in s. 253
61.13(3) to determine the best interests of the child before 254
approving, establishing, or modifying a parenting plan. The best 255
interests of the child should govern and be of foremost concern 256
in the court's approval, establishment, or modification of a 257
parenting plan. 258
(b) The court may approve, establish, or modify a 259
parenting plan, notwithstanding that the child is not physicall y 260
present in the state, if the court finds that the child was 261
removed from the state for the primary purpose of removing the 262
child from the court's jurisdiction in an attempt to avoid the 263
court's approval, creation, or modification of a parenting plan. 264
(c) A parenting plan that is approved or established by 265
the court must, at a minimum, include all of the following: 266
1. Describe the shared responsibilities for the daily 267
tasks of parenting. 268
2. The time-sharing schedule specifying the time the child 269
will spend with each legal parent. 270
3. A designation of which legal parent will be responsible 271
for health care, school -related matters, and extracurricular 272
activities. 273
4. The address to be used for school boundary 274
determination and registration. 275
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5. The means of communication or technology which the 276
legal parents will use to communicate with the child. 277
(d) The court shall determine matters relating to the 278
parenting and time-sharing of each child of the parties in 279
accordance with the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and 280
Enforcement Act, part II of chapter 61, and this section. 281
(11) The court may order the payment of child support by 282
any legal parent owing a duty of support in a final order or 283
judgment entered pursuant to paragraph (9)(b) or paragraph 284
(9)(c). When calculating child support, the court shall: 285
(a)1. For an order entered pursuant to paragraph (9)(b), 286
calculate child support obligations pursuant to s. 61.30. 287
2. For an order entered pursuant to paragraph (9)(c), 288
ensure that the child receiv es the same full benefit of the 289
total amount of child support as a child would receive under the 290
guidelines schedule in s. 61.30. 291
(b) Consider each deviation factor listed in s. 292
61.30(11)(a) to ensure that the distribution of the child 293
support is fair and equitable. 294
(12) The court may modify a parenting plan, time -sharing 295
schedule, or child support order entered under this section upon 296
a showing by the parent petitioning for modification that a 297
substantial change in circumstance has occurred. 298
(13) An order or a judgment entered under this section 299
does not impugn or affect a child's legitimacy. 300
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Section 2. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (14) of 301
section 61.046, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 302
61.046 Definitions. —As used in this chapter, the term: 303
(14) "Parenting plan" means a document created to govern 304
the relationship between the parents relating to decisions that 305
must be made regarding the minor child and must contain a time -306
sharing schedule for the parents and child. The issues 307
concerning the minor child may include, but are not limited to, 308
the child's education, health care, and physical, social, and 309
emotional well-being. In creating the plan, all circumstances 310
between the parents, including their historic relationship, 311
domestic violence, and other factors must be taken into 312
consideration. 313
(c) For purposes of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction 314
and Enforcement Act, part II of this chapter, a judgment or 315
order incorporating a parenting plan under this part is a child 316
custody determination under part II of this chapter or under s. 317
742.092. 318
(d) For purposes of the International Child Abduction 319
Remedies Act, 42 U.S.C. ss. 11601 et seq., and the Convention on 320
the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, enacted at 321
the Hague on October 25, 1980, rights of custody and rights of 322
access are determined pursuant to the parenting plan under this 323
part or under s. 742.092. 324
Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 325