Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-603

  • Adjudicated parent: means an individual who has been adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction to be a parent of a child. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
  • Alleged genetic parent: means an individual who is alleged to be, or alleges that the individual is, a genetic parent or possible genetic parent of a child whose parentage has not been adjudicated. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Birth: includes stillbirth and fetal death. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Child: means an individual of any age whose parentage may be determined pursuant to this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Intended parent: means an individual, whether married or unmarried, who manifests an intent to be legally bound as a parent of a child conceived through assisted reproduction or a gestational carrier agreement. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Parent: means an individual who has established parentage that meets the requirements of this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Parentage: means the legal relationship between a child and a parent as established under this chapter. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
  • Presumed parent: means a person who is presumed to be the parent of a child under § 15-8. See Rhode Island General Laws 15-8.1-102
  • Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.

     

(a)  Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, in a proceeding pursuant to this chapter to determine parentage, the court shall order the child and any other individual to submit to genetic testing if a request for testing is supported by the sworn statement of a party:

(1)  Alleging a reasonable possibility that the individual is the child’s genetic parent; or

(2)  Denying genetic parentage of the child and stating facts establishing a reasonable possibility that the individual is not a genetic parent.

(b)  Prior to a proceeding to establish genetic parentage and/or support in conformance with the state’s obligations under Title IV, Part D of the federal Social Security Act, 42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq., if the alleged genetic parent in response to a complaint supported by a sworn affidavit, filed by the office of child support services, denies parentage, the office of child support services shall have the authority to administratively order the parties to undergo genetic testing as described above, without the necessity of making application to the court, and the parties shall attend and submit to genetic testing under penalty of default.

(c)  The office of child support services may order genetic testing only if there is no presumed, acknowledged, or adjudicated parent of a child other than the individual who gave birth to the child.

(d)  The court or office of child support services shall not order in utero genetic testing.

(e)  If two (2) or more individuals are subject to court-ordered genetic testing, the court may order that testing be completed concurrently or sequentially.

(f)  Genetic testing of an individual who gave birth to a child is not a condition precedent to testing of the child and an individual whose genetic parentage of the child is being determined. If the individual who gave birth is unavailable or declines to submit to genetic testing, the court may order genetic testing of the child and each individual whose genetic parentage of the child is being adjudicated.

(g)  In a proceeding to adjudicate parentage of a child having an acknowledged, adjudicated, de facto, presumed parent or intended parent, the court may deny a motion seeking an order for genetic testing or deny admissibility of the test results at trial if it determines that:

(1)  The conduct of the parties estops a party from denying parentage; or

(2)  It would be an inequitable interference with the relationship between the child and an acknowledged, adjudicated, de facto, presumed, or intended parent, or would otherwise be contrary to the best interests of the child as provided in subsection (h) of this section.

(h)  In determining whether to deny a motion seeking an order for genetic testing under this chapter or a request for admission of such test results at trial, the court shall consider the best interests of the child, including the following factors, if relevant:

(1)  The length of time between the proceeding to adjudicate parentage and the time that a parent was placed on notice that genetic parentage is at issue;

(2)  The length of time during which the parent has assumed a parental role for the child;

(3)  The facts surrounding discovery that genetic parentage is at issue;

(4)  The nature of the relationship between the child and the parent;

(5)  The age of the child;

(6)  Any adverse effect on the child that may result if parentage is successfully disproved;

(7)  The nature of the relationship between the child and any alleged parent;

(8)  The extent to which the passage of time reduces the chances of establishing the parentage of another individual and a child support obligation in favor of the child; and

(9)  Any additional factors that may affect the equities arising from the disruption of the relationship between the child and the parent or the chance of an adverse effect on the child.

History of Section.
P.L. 2020, ch. 59, § 2; P.L. 2020, ch. 60, § 2; P.L. 2021, ch. 395, § 3, effective July 14, 2021.