(a) Where a public support burden has been incurred or is threatened, or where an individual seeks assistance pursuant to part D in title IV of the Social Security Act approved January 4, 1975 (88 Stat. 2351; 42 U.S.C. 651 et seq.), the Corporation Counsel or an assistant may bring a civil action in the Family Division to enforce support of any parent or child against an absent parent.
(b) In all cases over which the Division has jurisdiction under paragraphs (3), (4), (10), and (11) of section 11-1101, where the court deems it necessary and proper, an attorney shall be appointed by the court to represent the respondent.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to interfere with the right of an individual to file a civil action over which the Division has jurisdiction under the paragraphs of section 11-1101 referred to in subsection (b).
§ 16–2342. Who may bring a complaint; time.
(a) A proceeding to determine parentage may be brought by the District of Columbia, a person whose parentage of the child is to be adjudicated, a child’s mother, putative father, guardian, legal or physical custodian, the IV-D agency, the person whose parentage is to be determined, if an adult, or a licensed child-placing agency.
(b) A proceeding to determine parentage and provide for the support of a child with no presumed parent under § 16-909(a)(1) through (4) or § 16-909(a-1)(2) may be instituted after four months of pregnancy or at anytime until the child’s twenty-first birthday.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (d) of this section, a proceeding to rebut the presumption of parentage of a child having a presumed parent under § 16-909(a)(1) through (4) or § 16-909(a-1)(2) shall be commenced not later than 2 years after the birth of the child, after which time the presumption becomes conclusive.
(d) A proceeding seeking to disprove the parent-child relationship between a child and the child’s presumed parent under § 16-909(a)(1) through (4) or § 16-909(a-1)(2) may be maintained at any time if the court determines that the presumed parent did not live with the child’s mother during the 300 days before the birth of the child and never openly held out the child as his or her own.
§ 16–2342.01. Voluntary acknowledgement of paternity.
(a) The voluntary acknowledgment of paternity pursuant to section 16-909.01(a)(1) shall:
(1) Create a conclusive presumption of paternity, consistent with § 16-909.01(b), which shall be admissible as evidence of paternity, unless the acknowledgement was signed in the District and it is proven that the requirements of § 16-909.01(a)(1) were not fully met; and
(2) Be recognized as a basis for seeking a child support obligation without requiring any further proceeding to establish paternity.
(b) Judicial or administrative proceedings are not required or permitted to ratify an unchallenged acknowledgment of paternity pursuant to section 16-909.1(a)(1).
(c) The IV-D agency is authorized to obtain voluntary acknowledgments of paternity in a manner that complies with the same requirements that apply to birthing hospitals as set forth in section 16-909.03.
(d) An acknowledgment shall be admissible in any judicial proceeding to determine parentage.
§ 16–2343. Tests to establish parentage.
(a) When the Division has jurisdiction of actions or proceedings under section 11-1101, the court, on its own motion, may require, or, on the motion of a party, any signatory to an acknowledgement of paternity or adjudication, the child whose parentage is at issue, or another individual who puts forth sufficient facts to claim they may be the biological parent of the child, shall require, the child and all other parties to submit to medical or genetic tests, unless:
(1) A party has established or is awaiting determination of a claim of good cause for failure to cooperate with paternity establishment pursuant to section 4-217.09;
(2) A legal finding of paternity has been made pursuant to the laws and procedures of another state;
(3) [Repealed].
(4) The child was conceived through artificial insemination and the donor is not a parent pursuant to § 16-909(e)(2); or
(5) The child has a presumed parent under § 16-909(a)(1) through (4) or § 16-909(a-1)(2) and no proceeding to rebut the presumption was filed within the time provided in § 16-2342(c) or (d).
(a-1)(1) When a child does not have a presumed parent under § 16-909(a)(1) through (4) or § 16-909(a-1)(2), the IV-D agency shall require the child and all other parties to submit to medical or genetic tests, subject to exemptions for good cause pursuant to section 4-217.09, if:
(A) A party submits a sworn statement alleging paternity and setting forth facts establishing a reasonable possibility of the requisite sexual contact between the parties; or
(B) A party contests an original test result and seeks additional testing, upon request and advance payment by the contestant.
(2) In all other cases in which a child does not have a presumed parent under § 16-909(a)(1) through (4) or § 16-909(a-1)(2), the IV-D agency may require the child and all other parties to submit to medical or genetic tests when paternity is contested, subject to exemptions for good cause pursuant to section 4-217.09.
(b)(1) Tests shall be performed by persons qualified as examiners of genetic markers present in the human body.
(2) The examiners may be appointed by the court, the IV-D agency, or chosen by consent of the parties.
(c)(1) Except as provided pursuant to subsection (a-1)(1)(B) of this section, the costs of any medical or genetic tests ordered by the IV-D agency shall be paid by the IV-D agency, subject to recoupment from the putative father if paternity is established. The costs of any medical or genetic tests not ordered by the IV-D agency, and the costs of any expert witness appointed by the court shall be paid by the parties.
(2) The court may order that the District of Columbia pay the costs upon a finding that the alleged parent does not have sufficient resources to pay the costs.
§ 16–2343.01. Admissibility of tests.
(a)(1) Expert reports that show the statistical probability of the alleged parent’s paternity may be admissible into evidence.
(2) Certified documentation of the chain of custody of the test specimens is competent evidence to establish the chain of custody.
(3) Test results that show the statistical probability of the alleged parent’s paternity shall be admitted into evidence unless a substantiated objection is made that the test did not comply with the requirements of this subchapter.
(b)(1) If the test results or the expert’s analysis of the test results are disputed, a party must file its specific objections in writing with the court within 45 days of the date the results were mailed by the court to the party.
(2) The court shall not accept objections made less than 5 days prior to the date of trial.
(c) Unless a party timely objects pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, the following apply:
(1) The parties waive their objections to the testing procedures, the admission into evidence of the results of the test and the report on the statistical probability of paternity.
(2) The verified results of the tests and the report are admissible into evidence at a hearing or other proceeding without need for foundation testimony or other proof of authenticity or accuracy regardless of the presence or non-presence of parties having notice of the action.
(3) Whenever the results of the tests and report exclude the alleged parent as the parent of the child, that evidence shall be conclusive evidence of nonpaternity, unless contrary test results are received. Court-ordered DNA test results excluding a signatory of an acknowledgement of paternity or the subject of an adjudication as the father of a child or proving to a scientific certainty that a different individual is the child's biological parent shall constitute evidence of fraud, duress, or a material mistake of fact for the purposes of § 16-909(c-1)(2) and shall require the court to set aside the acknowledgment or adjudication.
(d)(1) If the results of the tests and report of the evidence relating to the alleged parent’s paternity of the child are disputed, the court, absent an agreement between the parties, shall resolve all disputes.
(2) The court may order that additional tests be made at the expense of the objecting party.
(e)(1) When a child has no presumed parent under § 16-909(a)(1) through (4) or under § 16-909(a-1)(2) and a genetic test result indicates a 99% probability that the putative father is the father of the child, if the genetic test is of the type generally acknowledged as reliable by accreditation bodies designated by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is performed by a laboratory approved by such body, there is a conclusive presumption of paternity and the Court shall enter a judgment finding the parentage of the child consistent with such result, upon the submission of the result and a certifying affidavit from the laboratory, subject to the determination of any objection properly filed pursuant to subsection (b) of this section.
(2) When a child has a presumed parent under § 16-909(a)(1) through (4) or under § 16-909(a-1)(2) and a genetic test result indicates a 99% probability that the putative father is the father of the child, if the genetic test is of the type generally acknowledged as reliable by accreditation bodies designated by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and is performed by a laboratory approved by such body, the Court shall determine parentage giving due consideration to the child’s interests and the duration and stability of the relationship between the child, the presumed parent, and the putative parent.
(f) Bills for pregnancy, childbirth, and genetic testing are admissible as evidence without third-party foundation testimony and shall constitute prima facie evidence of the amounts incurred for such services or for testing on behalf of the child.
§ 16–2343.02. Sanctions.
If any party refuses to submit to a test the party may be punished by contempt or by other sanctions that the court considers appropriate.
§ 16–2343.03. Default order.
If a respondent fails to appear at a hearing in any case in which parentage is at issue, a default order shall be entered upon a showing that (1) the respondent was served with notice of the action by any method permitted pursuant to section 46-206(b) , and (2) that the respondent received actual notice of the first, or any other hearing, where parentage is at issue which the respondent failed to attend. An ex parte hearing shall not be required before the entry of a default order.
§ 16–2343.04. No right to jury trial.
The parties to an action to establish parentage are not entitled to a jury trial.
§ 16–2344. Exclusion of public.
Upon trial or proceedings over which the Division has jurisdiction under paragraph (3), (4), (10), or (11) of section 11-1101 , the court may exclude the general public and, at the request of either party, shall exclude the general public.
§ 16–2345. New birth record upon marriage or determination of parents.
(a) When a certified copy of a marriage certificate is submitted to the Registrar, establishing that the previously unwed parents of a child born out of wedlock have intermarried subsequent to the birth of the child, and the parentage of the child has been judicially determined or acknowledged by each of the parents, or when the parenthood of a child born out of wedlock has been established by judicial process or by acknowledgement by the person whose parenthood is thus determined, or when an agreement and affidavit that meet the requirements of section 16-909.01(a)(2) are submitted to the Registrar, or when a consent to parent a child born by artificial insemination pursuant to sections 16-909(e)(1)(A) and 7-231.08(l)(6), is submitted to the Registrar, a new certificate of birth bearing the original date of birth and the names of both parents shall be issued and substituted for the certificate of birth then on file. The new birth certificate shall nowhere on its face show that the parentage has been established by judicial process or by acknowledgement. The original certificate of birth and all papers pertaining to the issuance of the new certificate shall be placed under seal and opened for inspection only upon order of the Family Division.
(b) Voluntary acknowledgments and adjudications of paternity by administrative processes that meet federal requirements and are obtained in accordance with sections 16-909.03 through 16-909.05 and 16-2342.01(c), shall be filed with the Registrar of Vital Records.
§ 16–2346. Certificate to Registrar.
(a) Upon entry of a final judgment determining the parentage of a child, the clerk of the court shall forward a certificate to the Registrar of the District of Columbia, or his authorized representative in the jurisdiction in which the child was born, giving the names of the persons adjudged to be the parents of the child.
(b) Repealed.
§ 16–2347. Death of respondent; liability of estate.
If the respondent dies after parentage has been established and prior to the time the child reaches the age at which the child ceases to be a minor, any sums due and unpaid under an order of the court at the time of his or her death shall constitute a valid claim against his or her estate.
§ 16–2348. Parentage records; confidentiality; inspection and disclosure.
(a) Except on order of the Family Division, no records in a case over which the Division has jurisdiction under section 11-1101(11) shall be open to inspection by anyone other than the plaintiff, respondent, their attorneys of record, the IV-D agency, or authorized professional staff of the Superior Court. Any inspection shall be subject to the safeguards provided by section 16-925. The Family Division, upon proper showing, may authorize the furnishing of certified copies of the records or portions thereof to the respondent, the other parent, or custodian of the child, a party in interest, or their duly authorized attorneys. Certified copies of the records or portions thereof may be furnished, upon request, to the IV-D agency and the Corporation Counsel for use as evidence in nonsupport proceedings and to the Registrar as provided by section 16-2346(a).
(b) No person shall disclose, receive, or use records in violation of this section. Whoever willfully discloses, receives, makes use of, or knowingly permits the use of information in violation of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than the amount set forth in [§ 22-3571.01] or imprisoned not more than ninety days, or both. Violations of this section shall be prosecuted by the Corporation Counsel in the name of the District of Columbia.
§ 16–2349. Inclusion of social security numbers in parentage records.
The social security number of the parents and child who are parties to a parentage determination or acknowledgment shall be included in the Superior Court and IV-D agency records relating to the determination or acknowledgment.
§ 16–2349.01. Child support pendente lite.
Upon motion of a party in a parentage or support action or proceeding, the Superior Court shall issue an order of child support pending a determination of parentage if there is clear and convincing evidence of parentage. Evidence of parentage may include a genetic test result that does not create a conclusive presumption of parentage pursuant to section 16-909(b-1)(1) .
