HOUSE BILL No. 5088

 

August 10, 2005, Introduced by Rep. Lemmons, III and referred to the Committee on Family and Children 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 an order

 

stating that an individual is a child's father or terminate a child

 

support order if the court finds both of the following:

 

     (a) The individual is not the child's adoptive parent.

 

     (b) Genetic testing results are admitted into evidence and the

 

results exclude the individual as the child's parent.


 

     (2) The court shall not grant a motion filed 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 as to 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 an individual knows that he is not a

 

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 this section with

 

the court that issued the order from which the moving party seeks

 

relief.

 

     (5) In a proceeding under this section, the court, upon

 

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 filing 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 this section to vacate

 

or terminate an order, and the moving party and child are also the

 

subjects of a parenting time order, the court shall determine if

 

the parenting time order is terminated, modified, or continued

 

based upon the best interests of the child. If the court grants a

 

motion under this section to terminate a child support order and an

 

arrearage exists under that order, the court may retroactively

 

correct the arrearage.

 

     (7) If the court grants an individual's motion under this

 

section to vacate or terminate an order, the court shall order the

 

child's mother to reimburse the individual for all child support

 

payments that the individual has previously paid to her.

 

     (8) If a motion under this section is to terminate a child

 

support order and the court does not grant the motion, the court

 

shall order the moving party 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.