1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to paternity; eliminating a presumption for 
  1.3             husbands in certain cases; allowing husbands to join 
  1.4             in a recognition of parentage; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 1994, sections 257.55, subdivision 1; and 
  1.6             257.75, subdivisions 1, 2, 4, and by adding a 
  1.7             subdivision. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.55, 
  1.10  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [PRESUMPTION.] A man is presumed to be the 
  1.12  biological father of a child if:  
  1.13     (a) He and the child's biological mother are or have been 
  1.14  married to each other and the child is born during the marriage, 
  1.15  or within 280 days after the marriage is terminated by death, 
  1.16  annulment, declaration of invalidity, dissolution, or divorce, 
  1.17  or after a decree of legal separation is entered by a court.  
  1.18  The presumption in this paragraph does not apply if the man has 
  1.19  joined in a recognition of parentage recognizing another man as 
  1.20  the biological father under section 257.75, subdivision 1a; 
  1.21     (b) Before the child's birth, he and the child's biological 
  1.22  mother have attempted to marry each other by a marriage 
  1.23  solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although the 
  1.24  attempted marriage is or could be declared void, voidable, or 
  1.25  otherwise invalid, and, 
  1.26     (1) if the attempted marriage could be declared invalid 
  2.1   only by a court, the child is born during the attempted 
  2.2   marriage, or within 280 days after its termination by death, 
  2.3   annulment, declaration of invalidity, dissolution or divorce; or 
  2.4      (2) if the attempted marriage is invalid without a court 
  2.5   order, the child is born within 280 days after the termination 
  2.6   of cohabitation; 
  2.7      (c) After the child's birth, he and the child's biological 
  2.8   mother have married, or attempted to marry, each other by a 
  2.9   marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with law, although 
  2.10  the attempted marriage is or could be declared void, voidable, 
  2.11  or otherwise invalid, and, 
  2.12     (1) he has acknowledged his paternity of the child in 
  2.13  writing filed with the state registrar of vital statistics; 
  2.14     (2) with his consent, he is named as the child's father on 
  2.15  the child's birth certificate; or 
  2.16     (3) he is obligated to support the child under a written 
  2.17  voluntary promise or by court order; 
  2.18     (d) While the child is under the age of majority, he 
  2.19  receives the child into his home and openly holds out the child 
  2.20  as his biological child; 
  2.21     (e) He and the child's biological mother acknowledge his 
  2.22  paternity of the child in a writing signed by both of them under 
  2.23  section 257.34 and filed with the state registrar of vital 
  2.24  statistics.  If another man is presumed under this paragraph to 
  2.25  be the child's father, acknowledgment may be effected only with 
  2.26  the written consent of the presumed father or after the 
  2.27  presumption has been rebutted; 
  2.28     (f) Evidence of statistical probability of paternity based 
  2.29  on blood testing establishes the likelihood that he is the 
  2.30  father of the child, calculated with a prior probability of no 
  2.31  more than 0.5 (50 percent), is 99 percent or greater; 
  2.32     (g) He and the child's biological mother have executed a 
  2.33  recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75 and 
  2.34  another man is presumed to be the father under this subdivision; 
  2.35  or 
  2.36     (h) He and the child's biological mother have executed a 
  3.1   recognition of parentage in accordance with section 257.75 and 
  3.2   another man and the child's mother have executed a recognition 
  3.3   of parentage in accordance with section 257.75. 
  3.4      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.75, 
  3.5   subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  3.6      Subdivision 1.  [RECOGNITION BY PARENTS.] The mother and 
  3.7   father of a child born to a mother who was not married to the 
  3.8   child's father nor to any other man when the child was conceived 
  3.9   nor when the child was born may, in a writing signed by both of 
  3.10  them before a notary public and filed with the state registrar 
  3.11  of vital statistics, state and acknowledge under oath that they 
  3.12  are the biological parents of the child and wish to be 
  3.13  recognized as the biological parents.  The recognition must be 
  3.14  in the form prepared by the commissioner of human services under 
  3.15  subdivision 5, except that it may also include the joinder in 
  3.16  recognition provisions under subdivision 1a.  The requirement 
  3.17  that the mother not be married when the child was conceived nor 
  3.18  when the child was born does not apply if her husband or former 
  3.19  husband joins in the recognition under subdivision 1a. 
  3.20     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.75, is 
  3.21  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.22     Subd. 1a.  [JOINDER IN RECOGNITION BY HUSBAND.] A man who 
  3.23  is a presumed father under section 257.55, subdivision 1, 
  3.24  paragraph (a), may join in a recognition of parentage that 
  3.25  recognizes that another man is the child's biological father.  
  3.26  The man who is the presumed father under section 257.55, 
  3.27  subdivision 1, paragraph (a), must sign an acknowledgment under 
  3.28  oath before a notary public that he is renouncing the 
  3.29  presumption under section 257.55, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), 
  3.30  and recognizing that the father who is executing the recognition 
  3.31  under subdivision 1 is the biological father of the child.  A 
  3.32  joinder in a recognition under this subdivision must be executed 
  3.33  at the same time as the recognition under subdivision 1 or 
  3.34  within ten days following execution of the recognition, and must 
  3.35  be included in the recognition form or incorporated by reference 
  3.36  within the recognition and attached to the form when it is filed 
  4.1   with the state registrar of vital statistics.  Failure to 
  4.2   properly execute a joinder in a recognition does not affect the 
  4.3   validity of the recognition under subdivision 1. 
  4.4      Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.75, 
  4.5   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.6      Subd. 2.  [REVOCATION OF RECOGNITION.] A recognition may be 
  4.7   revoked in a writing signed by the mother or father before a 
  4.8   notary public and filed with the state registrar of vital 
  4.9   statistics within 30 days after the recognition is executed.  A 
  4.10  joinder in a recognition may be revoked in a writing signed by 
  4.11  the man who executed the joinder and filed with the state 
  4.12  registrar of vital statistics within 30 days after the joinder 
  4.13  is executed.  Upon receipt of a revocation of the recognition of 
  4.14  parentage or joinder in a recognition, the state registrar of 
  4.15  vital statistics shall forward a copy of the revocation to the 
  4.16  nonrevoking parent, or, in the case of a joinder in a 
  4.17  recognition, to the mother and father who executed the 
  4.18  recognition. 
  4.19     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 257.75, 
  4.20  subdivision 4, is amended to read: 
  4.21     Subd. 4.  [ACTION TO VACATE RECOGNITION.] An action to 
  4.22  vacate a recognition of paternity may be brought by the mother, 
  4.23  father, or child.  A mother or father must bring the action 
  4.24  within one year of the execution of the recognition or within 
  4.25  six months after discovery of evidence in support of the action, 
  4.26  whichever is later.  A child must bring an action to vacate 
  4.27  within six months of discovery of evidence, in support of the 
  4.28  action or within one year of reaching the age of majority, 
  4.29  whichever is later.  If the court finds a prima facie basis for 
  4.30  vacating the recognition, the court shall order the child, 
  4.31  mother, and father to submit to blood tests.  If the court 
  4.32  issues an order for the taking of blood tests, the court shall 
  4.33  require the party seeking to vacate the recognition to make 
  4.34  advance payment for the costs of the blood tests.  If the party 
  4.35  fails to pay for the costs of the blood tests, the court shall 
  4.36  dismiss the action to vacate with prejudice.  The court may also 
  5.1   order the party seeking to vacate the recognition to pay the 
  5.2   other party's reasonable attorney fees, costs, and 
  5.3   disbursements.  If the results of the blood tests establish that 
  5.4   the man who executed the recognition is not the father, the 
  5.5   court shall vacate the recognition.  If a recognition is 
  5.6   vacated, any joinder in the recognition under subdivision 1a is 
  5.7   also vacated.  The court shall terminate the obligation of a 
  5.8   party to pay ongoing child support based on the recognition.  A 
  5.9   modification of child support based on a recognition may be made 
  5.10  retroactive with respect to any period during which the moving 
  5.11  party has pending a motion to vacate the recognition but only 
  5.12  from the date of service of notice of the motion on the 
  5.13  responding party.