(a) The agency may appear on behalf of minor children or their mother or legal custodian or the state and initiate efforts to have the paternity of children born out of wedlock determined by the court. When the agency is a party to a court action in which paternity is contested, it shall request and pay for genetic testing and procedures under Alaska Stat. § 25.20.050(e) and may recover the costs of the testing as provided in Alaska Stat. § 25.20.050(f).
Terms Used In Alaska Statutes 25.27.040
action: includes any matter or proceeding in a court, civil or criminal. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
state: means the State of Alaska unless applied to the different parts of the United States and in the latter case it includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Alaska Statutes 01.10.060
(b) The agency may not attempt to establish paternity in any case
(1) involving incest or forcible rape, unless the mother of the child is legally competent and requests the establishment of paternity; in this paragraph, “forcible rape” means sexual assault in the first degree under Alaska Stat. § 11.41.410 or a conviction under a law or ordinance from another jurisdiction with similar elements; “forcible rape” includes adjudications of delinquency for acts with elements similar to Alaska Stat. § 11.41.410;(2) when legal proceedings for adoption are pending; or(3) when it would not be in the best interests of the children or the state.(c) When the agency is a party in a court action in which paternity is contested, the agency shall move for a default judgment in a case that meets the conditions specified in Alaska Stat. § 25.20.050(g).
