82R2889 KSD-F
By: Dutton H.B. No. 481
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the establishment of paternity.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 160.201(b), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) The father-child relationship is established between a
man and a child by:
(1) an unrebutted presumption of the man's paternity
of the child under Section 160.204;
(2) an effective acknowledgment of paternity by the
man under Subchapter D[, unless the acknowledgment has been
rescinded or successfully challenged];
(3) an adjudication of the man's paternity;
(4) the adoption of the child by the man; or
(5) the man's consenting to assisted reproduction by
his wife under Subchapter H, which resulted in the birth of the
child.
SECTION 2. Section 160.204(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A man is presumed to be the father of a child if:
(1) he is married to the mother of the child and the
child is born during the marriage;
(2) he is married to the mother of the child and the
child is born before the 301st day after the date the marriage is
terminated by death, annulment, declaration of invalidity, or
divorce;
(3) he married the mother of the child before the birth
of the child in apparent compliance with law, even if the attempted
marriage is or could be declared invalid, and the child is born
during the invalid marriage or before the 301st day after the date
the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, declaration of
invalidity, or divorce;
(4) he married the mother of the child after the birth
of the child in apparent compliance with law, regardless of whether
the marriage is or could be declared invalid, he voluntarily
asserted his paternity of the child, and:
(A) the assertion is:
(i) in a record filed with the bureau of
vital statistics; or
(ii) confirmed by the results of genetic
testing [(B) he is voluntarily named as the child's father on the
child's birth certificate]; or
(B) [(C)] he promised in a record to support the
child as his own; or
(5) during the first two years of the child's life, he
continuously resided in the household in which the child resided
and he represented to others that the child was his own.
SECTION 3. Section 160.301, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 160.301. ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF PATERNITY. The mother of a
child and a man claiming to be the biological father of the child
may sign an acknowledgment of paternity with the intent to
establish the man's paternity only after there has been genetic
testing with results that are consistent with the man's claim of
paternity.
SECTION 4. Section 160.302(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) An acknowledgment of paternity must:
(1) be in a record;
(2) be signed, or otherwise authenticated, under
penalty of perjury by the mother and the man seeking to establish
paternity;
(3) state that the child whose paternity is being
acknowledged:
(A) does not have a presumed father or has a
presumed father whose full name is stated; and
(B) does not have another acknowledged or
adjudicated father;
(4) state that [whether] there has been genetic
testing and[, if so, that] the acknowledging man's claim of
paternity is consistent with the results of the testing; and
(5) state that the signatories understand that the
acknowledgment is the equivalent of a judicial adjudication of the
paternity of the child [and that a challenge to the acknowledgment
is permitted only under limited circumstances and is barred after
four years].
SECTION 5. Section 160.303, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 160.303. DENIAL OF PATERNITY. A presumed father of a
child may sign a denial of his paternity. The denial is valid only
if:
(1) an acknowledgment of paternity signed or otherwise
authenticated by another man is filed under Section 160.305;
(2) the denial is in a record and is signed or
otherwise authenticated under penalty of perjury; and
(3) the presumed father has not previously:
(A) acknowledged paternity of the child[, unless
the previous acknowledgment has been rescinded under Section
160.307 or successfully challenged under Section 160.308]; or
(B) been adjudicated to be the father of the
child.
SECTION 6. Sections 160.304(b) and (c), Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(b) An acknowledgment of paternity [or a denial of
paternity] may not be signed unless the man's claim of paternity is
confirmed by the results of genetic testing [before the birth of the
child].
(c) Subject to Subsection (a), a [an acknowledgment of
paternity or] denial of paternity may be signed before the birth of
the child and takes effect on the date of the [birth of the child or
the] filing of the document with the bureau of vital statistics[,
whichever occurs later].
SECTION 7. Sections 160.305 and 160.310, Family Code, are
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 160.305. EFFECT OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT OR DENIAL OF
PATERNITY. (a) A [Except as provided by Sections 160.307 and
160.308, a] valid acknowledgment of paternity filed with the bureau
of vital statistics is the equivalent of an adjudication of the
paternity of a child and confers on the acknowledged father all
rights and duties of a parent.
(b) A [Except as provided by Sections 160.307 and 160.308,
a] valid denial of paternity filed with the bureau of vital
statistics in conjunction with a valid acknowledgment of paternity
is the equivalent of an adjudication of the nonpaternity of the
presumed father and discharges the presumed father from all rights
and duties of a parent.
Sec. 160.310. RATIFICATION BARRED. A court or
administrative agency conducting a judicial or administrative
proceeding may not ratify an [unchallenged] acknowledgment of
paternity.
SECTION 8. Section 160.312(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) To facilitate compliance with this subchapter, the
bureau of vital statistics shall prescribe forms for the
acknowledgment of paternity and the denial of paternity. The form
for the acknowledgment of paternity must require the man seeking to
establish paternity to state that the man's claim of paternity is
consistent with the results of genetic testing.
SECTION 9. Section 160.609, Family Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 160.609. TIME LIMITATION: CHILD HAVING [ACKNOWLEDGED
OR] ADJUDICATED FATHER. [(a) If a child has an acknowledged
father, a signatory to the acknowledgment or denial of paternity
may commence a proceeding seeking to rescind the acknowledgment or
denial or to challenge the paternity of the child only within the
time allowed under Section 160.307 or 160.308.
[(b)] If a child has an [acknowledged father or an]
adjudicated father, an individual, other than the child, who is not
a [signatory to the acknowledgment or a] party to the adjudication
and who seeks an adjudication of paternity of the child must
commence a proceeding not later than the fourth anniversary of the
effective date of the [acknowledgment or] adjudication.
SECTION 10. Section 160.634, Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 160.634. ORDER ON DEFAULT. The court shall issue an
order adjudicating the paternity of a man who:
(1) after having been personally served with [service
of] process, is in default; and
(2) is found by the court to be the father of a child.
SECTION 11. Section 160.637, Family Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(b) A child is not bound by a determination of parentage
under this chapter unless:
(1) the determination was based on an [unrescinded]
acknowledgment of paternity and the acknowledgment is consistent
with the results of genetic testing;
(2) the adjudication of parentage was based on a
finding consistent with the results of genetic testing and the
consistency is declared in the determination or is otherwise shown;
or
(3) the child was a party or was represented in the
proceeding determining parentage by an attorney ad litem.
(f) An adjudication of parentage is not binding on a person
who was not personally served with process in the suit adjudicating
parentage unless the person personally appeared in the suit.
SECTION 12. Sections 160.307, 160.308, 160.309, and
160.608(f), Family Code, are repealed.
SECTION 13. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, the changes in law made by this Act apply only to an
acknowledgment or denial of paternity filed on or after the
effective date of this Act. An acknowledgment or denial of
paternity filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by
the law in effect on the date the acknowledgment or denial of
paternity was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
(b) The changes in law made by this Act to Sections 160.634
and 160.637, Family Code, apply only to a proceeding to adjudicate
the parentage of a child filed on or after the effective date of
this Act. A proceeding filed before the effective date of this Act
is governed by the law in effect on the date the proceeding was
filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 14. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.