Section 3119.962. Granting relief from paternity determination  


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  • (A)

    (1) Upon the filing of a motion for relief under section 3119.961 of the Revised Code, a court shall grant relief from a final judgment, court order, or administrative determination or order that determines that a person or male minor is the father of a child or from a child support order under which a person or male minor is the obligor if all of the following apply:

    (a) The court receives genetic test results from a genetic test administered no more than six months prior to the filing of the motion for relief that finds that there is a zero per cent probability that the person or male minor is the father of the child.

    (b) The person or male minor has not adopted the child.

    (c) The child was not conceived as a result of artificial insemination in compliance with sections 3111.88 to 3111.96 of the Revised Code.

    (2) A court shall not deny relief from a final judgment, court order, or administrative determination or order that determines that a person or male minor is the father of a child or from a child support order under which a person or male minor is the obligor solely because of the occurrence of any of the following acts if the person or male minor at the time of or prior to the occurrence of that act did not know that he was not the natural father of the child:

    (a) The person or male minor was required to support the child by a child support order.

    (b) The person or male minor validly signed the child's birth certificate as an informant as provided in section 3705.09 of the Revised Code as that section existed prior to January 1, 1998.

    (c) The person or male minor was named in an acknowledgment of paternity of the child that a court entered upon its journal pursuant to former section 2105.18 of the Revised Code.

    (d) The person or male minor was named in an acknowledgment of paternity of the child that has become final under section 2151.232, 3111.25, or 3111.821 of the Revised Code or former section 3111.211 or 5101.314 of the Revised Code.

    (e) The person or male minor was presumed to be the natural father of the child under any of the circumstances listed in section 3111.03 of the Revised Code.

    (f) The person or male minor was presumed to be the natural father of the child under any of the circumstances listed in:

    (i) Division (A)(3) of section 3111.03 of the Revised Code as that division existed prior to January 1, 1998;

    (ii) Division (A)(3) of section 3111.03 of the Revised Code as that division existed on and after January 1, 1998, and prior to the effective date of this amendment;

    (iii) Division (A)(5) of section 3111.03 of the Revised Code as that division existed prior to the effective date of this amendment.

    (g) The person or male minor was determined to be the father of the child in a parentage action under Chapter 3111. of the Revised Code.

    (h) The person or male minor otherwise admitted or acknowledged himself to be the child's natural father.

    (B) A court shall not grant relief from a final judgment, court order, or administrative determination or order that determines that a person or male minor is the father of a child or from a child support order under which a person or male minor is the obligor if the court determines, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the person or male minor knew that he was not the natural father of the child before any of the following:

    (1) Any act listed in divisions (A)(2)(a) to (d) and (A)(2)(f) of this section occurred.

    (2) The person or male minor was presumed to be the natural father of the child under any of the circumstances listed in divisions (A)(1) to (3) of section 3111.03 of the Revised Code.

    (3) The person or male minor otherwise admitted or acknowledged himself to be the child's father.

    (C) If the determination of paternity from which relief is sought is an acknowledgment of paternity that has become final under section 2151.232, 3111.25, or 3111.821 of the Revised Code or former section 3111.211 or 5101.314 of the Revised Code, and the court grants the motion for relief, it shall order the acknowledgment to be rescinded and destroyed and order the department of job and family services to remove all information relating to the acknowledgment from the birth registry.

Effective Date: 03-22-2001