Or. Admin. R. 137-055-3020 - Paternity Establishment Procedures
Current through Register Vol. 61, No. 4, April 1, 2022
(1) When a case involves a child who is not
yet born, the administrator will take no action to establish paternity or to
provide locate services until such time as the child is born.
(2)
(a)
When initiating legal proceedings to establish paternity for a child conceived
in Oregon, the administrator will use ORS chapter 109 or ORS chapter
25.
(b) Except for proceedings
filed under ORS chapter 109, past support will be established as provided by
ORS chapter 25 and OAR 137-055-3220.
(3) When the administrator initiates legal
proceedings to establish paternity, if the child was born in this state, the
administrator will file the Notification of Filing of Petition in Filiation
Proceedings with the Center for Health Statistics.
(4) When initiating a legal proceeding, the
administrator will seek to establish paternity against the man named as the
most likely alleged father except as provided in sections (5) and
(6).
(5) When parentage is
established by presumption under ORS
109.070
and the birth mother names one or more persons other than the presumed parent
as the biological father of the child, the administrator will provide the
presumed parent with notice and an opportunity to object.
(a) If a written objection is received from
the presumed parent within 30 days of the date of the notice, an action to
determine parentage will be filed in circuit court.
(b) If no written objection is received from
the presumed parent within 30 days of the date of the notice, the administrator
will facilitate genetic testing for the birth mother, child, and alleged
father(s) prior to filing an action to determine parentage in circuit court.
(A) If all known alleged fathers are excluded
by testing or testing cannot be completed, the administrator may seek support
from the presumed parent.
(B) If an
alleged father is included by testing, the administrator will file an action in
circuit court to disestablish the parentage of the presumed parent and
establish the parentage of the alleged father who was included by
testing.
(6)
Notwithstanding section (5) of this rule, when parentage is established by
presumption under ORS
109.070,
the administrator will not pursue an action to determine parentage if:
(a) The mother and presumed parent are still
married, cohabiting, and do not both consent to an action to determine
parentage; or
(b) The presumed
parent has physical custody of the child and does not consent to an action to
determine parentage.
(7)
When establishing support against a presumed parent, if a party provides proof
that he or she filed a petition to challenge parentage under ORS
109.070,
the administrator will suspend the support action pending the resolution of the
petition.
(8) Except as provided in
Section (6) of this rule, when the mother or other declarant states that more
than one man could be the biological father of the child and genetic tests have
excluded a man as the father of the child, the following provisions apply:
(a) If there is only one remaining untested
alleged biological father, that man is constructively included as the father by
virtue of the other men's exclusion as the father.
(b) If there is more than one remaining
untested alleged biological fathers, the administrator will initiate action
against each man, either simultaneously or one at a time, to attempt to obtain
tests which either exclude or include each man.
(9) Except as provided in Section (6) of this
rule, when the mother or other declarant states that more than one man could be
the biological father of the child and genetic tests have included a man as the
father of the child at a cumulative paternity index of at least 99, any other
untested alleged father(s) will be considered to be constructively excluded by
virtue of the first man's inclusion.
(10) The Oregon Child Support Program will
pay the costs of initial genetic tests to determine paternity.
(11) When a party requests additional
genetictesting as provided in ORS
109.252(2),
the following provisions apply:
(a) The
laboratory selected for additional testing must be a laboratory approved by
accreditation bodies designated by the Oregon Health Authority; and
(b) The party making the request must advance
the costs of the additional tests to the accredited
laboratory.
(12) Upon
receipt of a party's request for additional genetic testing and proof that
payment has been advanced to an accredited laboratory, the administrator or the
court will order additional testing.
(13) If a non-requesting party fails to
appear for the additional genetic testing, the administrator will take
appropriate steps to compel obedience to the order for additional
testing.
(14) If a requesting party
fails to appear for the additional genetic testing, the administrator may enter
an order in accordance with OAR 137-055-3100.
(15) The administrator may dismiss or
terminate a proceeding to establish paternity after sending written notice to
the parties that the case is being considered for dismissal or termination and
that any comments or objections must be made within 10 days.
(16) The birth mother is a necessary party to
an action to establish paternity, regardless of whether the mother is an
applicant for services or custodian of the child.
(a) When the birth mother is not the
applicant for services prompting the action to establish paternity, the
administrator must serve notice of the action by personal service upon the
birth mother, unless she is deceased. If the birth mother cannot be personally
served, the administrator shall request permission from the circuit court to
serve the mother by an alternate method as provided in ORCP 7 D(6);
(b) If the birth mother cannot be personally
served with notice of the action or if the birth mother is deceased, the
enforcing agency will not take an order establishing paternity unless genetic
tests to determine paternity have been completed which fail to exclude the
alleged father, and have a cumulative paternity index of at least
99%;
(c) In any action to establish
paternity in which the administrator cannot personally serve the child's birth
mother, or when the birth mother is deceased, the child's legal guardian is a
necessary party to the action. If the child does not have a legal guardian, the
administrator will request that the court appoint a willing, qualified and
suitable person to be a guardian ad litem for the child. If no relative or
other person agrees to such appointment, the administrator will request that an
attorney be appointed for this purpose.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 180.345
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 25.550, 109.070 & 109.125
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