- Consolidated Laws - Family Court
PART 1
JURISDICTION AND DUTIES TO SUPPORT
Section 511. Jurisdiction.
512. Definitions.
513. Obligation of parents.
514. Liability of father to mother.
515. Governmental obligation to child.
516. Agreement or compromise.
516-a. Acknowledgment of paternity.
517. Time for instituting proceedings.
518. Effect of death, absence, or mental illness of mother.
519. Effect of death, absence or mental illness of putative
father.
S 511. Jurisdiction. Except as otherwise provided, the family court
has exclusive original jurisdiction in proceedings to establish
paternity and, in any such proceedings in which it makes a finding of
paternity, to order support and to make orders of custody or of
visitation, as set forth in this article. On its own motion, the court
may at any time in the proceedings also direct the filing of a neglect
petition in accord with the provisions of article ten of this act. In
accordance with the provisions of section one hundred eleven-b of the
domestic relations law, the surrogate`s court has original jurisdiction
concurrent with the family court to determine the issues relating to the
establishment of paternity.
S 512. Definitions. When used in this article,
(a) The phrase "child born out of wedlock" refers to a child who is
begotten and born out of lawful matrimony.
(b) The word "child" refers to a child born out of wedlock.
(c) The word "mother" refers to the mother of a child born out of
wedlock.
(d) The word "father" refers to the father of a child born
out-of-wedlock.
S 513. Obligation of parents. Subject to the provisions of paragraph
(f) of subdivision six of section three hundred ninety-eight of the
social services law, each parent of a child born out of wedlock is
chargeable with the support of such child including the child`s funeral
expenses and, if possessed of sufficient means or able to earn such
means, shall be required to pay child support. A court shall make an
award for child support pursuant to subdivision one of section four
hundred thirteen of this act.
S 514. Liability of father to mother. The father is liable to pay the
reasonable expenses of the mother`s confinement and recovery and such
reasonable expenses in connection with her pregnancy as the court in its
discretion may deem proper; provided, however, where the mother`s
confinement, recovery and expenses in connection with her pregnancy were
paid under the medical assistance program on the mother`s behalf, the
father may be liable to the social services district furnishing such
medical assistance and to the state department of social services for
the full amount of medical assistance so expended, as the court in its
discretion may deem proper.
S 515. Governmental obligation to child. In case of the neglect or
inability of the parents to provide for the support and education of the
child, it shall be supported by the county, city or town chargeable
therewith under the provisions of the social welfare law.
S 516. Agreement or compromise. (a) An agreement or compromise made by
the mother or by some authorized person on behalf of either the mother
or child concerning the support of either is binding upon the mother and
child only when the court determines that adequate provision has been
made and is fully secured and approves said agreement or compromise.
(b) No agreement or compromise under this section shall be approved
until notice and opportunity to be heard are given to the public welfare
official of the county, city or town where the mother resides or the
child is found.
(c) The complete performance of the agreement or compromise, when so
approved, bars other remedies of the mother or child for the support and
education of the child.
S 516-a. Acknowledgment of paternity. (a) An acknowledgment of
paternity executed pursuant to section one hundred eleven-k of the
social services law or section four thousand one hundred thirty-five-b
of the public health law shall establish the paternity of and liability
for the support of a child pursuant to this act. Such acknowledgment
must be reduced to writing and filed pursuant to section four thousand
one hundred thirty-five-b of the public health law with the registrar of
the district in which the birth occurred and in which the birth
certificate has been filed. No further judicial or administrative
proceedings are required to ratify an unchallenged acknowledgment of
paternity.
(b) An acknowledgment of paternity executed pursuant to section one
hundred eleven-k of the social services law or section four thousand one
hundred thirty-five-b of the public health law may be rescinded by
either signator`s filing of a petition with the court to vacate the
acknowledgment within the earlier of sixty days of the date of signing
the acknowledgment or the date of an administrative or a judicial
proceeding (including a proceeding to establish a support order)
relating to the child in which either signator is a party. For purposes
of this section, the "date of an administrative or a judicial
proceeding" shall be the date by which the respondent is required to
answer the petition. After the expiration of sixty days of the
execution of the acknowledgment, either signator may challenge the
acknowledgment of paternity in court only on the basis of fraud, duress,
or material mistake of fact, with the burden of proof on the party
challenging the voluntary acknowledgment. Upon receiving a party`s
challenge to an acknowledgment, the court shall order genetic marker
tests or DNA tests for the determination of the child`s paternity and
shall make a finding of paternity, if appropriate, in accordance with
this article. Neither signator`s legal obligations, including the
obligation for child support arising from the acknowledgment, may be
suspended during the challenge to the acknowledgment except for good
cause as the court may find. If a party petitions to rescind an
acknowledgment and if the court determines that the alleged father is
not the father of the child, or if the court finds that an
acknowledgment is invalid because it was executed on the basis of fraud,
duress, or material mistake of fact, the court shall vacate the
acknowledgment of paternity and shall immediately provide a copy of the
order to the registrar of the district in which the child`s birth
certificate is filed and also to the putative father registry operated
by the department of social services pursuant to section three hundred
seventy-two-c of the social services law. In addition, if the mother of
the child who is the subject of the acknowledgment is in receipt of
child support services pursuant to title six-A of article three of the
social services law, the court shall immediately provide a copy of the
order to the child support enforcement unit of the social services
district that provides the mother with such services.
(c) A determination of paternity made by any other state, whether
established through the parents` acknowledgment of paternity or through
an administrative or judicial process, must be accorded full faith and
credit, if and only if such acknowledgment meets the requirements set
forth in section 452(a)(7) of the social security act.
S 517. Time for instituting proceedings. Proceedings to establish the
paternity of a child may be instituted during the pregnancy of the
mother or after the birth of the child, but shall not be brought after
the child reaches the age of twenty-one years, unless paternity has been
acknowledged by the father in writing or by furnishing support.
S 518. Effect of death, absence, or mental illness of mother. If, at
any time before or after a petition is filed, the mother dies or becomes
mentally ill or cannot be found within the state, neither the proceeding
nor the right to commence the proceeding shall abate but may be
commenced or continued by any of the persons authorized by this article
to commence a paternity proceeding.
S 519. Effect of death, absence or mental illness of putative father.
If, at any time before or after a petition if filed, the putative father
dies, or becomes mentally ill or cannot be found within the state,
neither the proceeding nor the right to commence the proceeding shall
necessarily abate but may be commenced or continued by any of the
persons authorized by this article to commence a paternity proceeding
where:
(a) the putative father was the petitioner in the paternity
proceeding; or,
(b) the putative father acknowledged paternity of the child in open
court; or,
(c) a genetic marker or DNA test had been administered to the putative
father prior to his death; or,
(d) the putative father has openly and notoriously acknowledged the
child as his own.
