Printable Format23-2209. Determination of father and child relationship; who may bring action; when action may be brought; revocation of acknowledgment. (a) A child or any person on behalf of such a child, may bring an action:
(1) At any time to determine the existence of a father and child relationship presumed under K.S.A. 23-2208, and amendments thereto; or
(2) at any time until three years after the child reaches the age of majority to determine the existence of a father and child relationship which is not presumed under K.S.A. 23-2208, and amendments thereto.
(b) When authorized under K.S.A. 39-755 or 39-756, and amendments thereto, the secretary for children and families may bring an action at any time during a child's minority to determine the existence of the father and child relationship.
(c) This section does not extend the time within which a right of inheritance or a right to a succession may be asserted beyond the time provided by law relating to the probate of estates or determination of heirship.
(d) Any agreement between an alleged or presumed father and the mother or child does not bar an action under this section.
(e) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if an acknowledgment of paternity pursuant to K.S.A. 23-2204, and amendments thereto, has been completed the man named as the father, the mother or the child may bring an action to revoke the acknowledgment of paternity at any time until one year after the child's date of birth. The legal responsibilities, including any child support obligation, of any signatory arising from the acknowledgment of paternity shall not be suspended during the action, except for good cause shown. If the person bringing the action was a minor at the time the acknowledgment of paternity was completed, the action to revoke the acknowledgment of paternity may be brought at any time until one year after that person attains age 18, unless the court finds that the child is more than one year of age and that revocation of the acknowledgment of paternity is not in the child's best interest.
The person requesting revocation must show, and shall have the burden of proving, that the acknowledgment of paternity was based upon fraud, duress or material mistake of fact unless the action to revoke the acknowledgment of paternity is filed before the earlier of 60 days after completion of the acknowledgment of paternity or the date of a proceeding relating to the child in which the signatory is a party, including, but not limited to, a proceeding to establish a support order.
If a court of this state has assumed jurisdiction over the matter of the child's paternity or the duty of a man to support the child, that court shall have exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether an acknowledgment of paternity may be revoked under this subsection.
If an acknowledgment of paternity has been revoked under this subsection, it shall not give rise to a presumption of paternity pursuant to K.S.A. 23-2208, and amendments thereto. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a court from admitting a revoked acknowledgment of paternity into evidence for any other purpose.
If there has been an assignment of the child's support rights pursuant to K.S.A. 39-709, and amendments thereto, the secretary for children and families shall be a necessary party to any action under this subsection.
History: L. 1985, ch. 114, § 6; L. 1994, ch. 292, § 6; L. 1997, ch. 182, § 63; L. 2014, ch. 115, § 34; July 1.
Source or Prior Law:
38-1115.
Law Review and Bar Journal References:
"Challenging the Presumption of Paternity," Sheila Reynolds, 65 J.K.B.A. No. 10, 36 (1996).
Attorney General's Opinions:
Changes in minor's birth certificate; parental consent. 88-102.
CASE ANNOTATIONS
1. Evidence concerning best interests of child as unnecessary in determination of parentage proceeding examined. In re Marriage of O'Brien, 13 Kan. App. 2d 402, 405, 772 P.2d 278 (1989).
2. Absence of jurisdiction examined where action brought without mother, child and presumed father as parties. State ex rel. Secretary of SRS v. Stephens, 13 Kan. App. 2d 715, 782 P.2d 68 (1989).
3. Purpose of Kansas parentage act stated and applied. In re Marriage of Ross, 245 Kan. 591, 594, 783 P.2d 331 (1989).
4. A trial court must hold a hearing before ordering a blood test in a paternity proceeding pursuant to subsection (b). Florida Dept. of HRS v. Breeden, 21 Kan. App. 2d 490, 498, 500, 901 P.2d 1357 (1995).
5. Genetic test results to establish presumption of paternity must be known before action is commenced under KPA (K.S.A. 38-1110 et seq.) to avoid K.S.A. 38-1115(a)(2) time limitation. In re Estate of Foley, 22 Kan. App. 2d 959, 960, 925 P.2d 449 (1996).
6. Court may order genetic testing where no evidence of presumed father without hearing to determine if in best interest of child. State ex rel. Secretary of SRS v. Miller, 24 Kan. App. 2d 822, 826, 953 P.2d 245 (1998).
7. No evidence to rebut the presumption of paternity found; retroactive awards of support upheld. In re Paternity of Janzen, 43 Kan. App. 2d 613, 228 P.3d 425 (2010).