Session of 1999
HOUSE BILL No. 2330
By Committee on Judiciary
2-9
9 AN ACT concerning children; relating to paternity and visitation rights;
10 amending K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 38-1121 and repealing the existing
11 section.
12
13 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
14 New Section 1. (a) If the secretary of social and rehabilitation serv-
15 ices provides title IV-D child support enforcement services to assist in
16 the establishment of paternity pursuant to K.S.A. 39-753, and amend-
17 ments thereto, and the Kansas parentage act, and paternity is established,
18 the father may request visitation rights be issued by the court pursuant
19 to K.S.A. 38-1121, and amendments thereto.
20 (b) Except as provided is subsection (b) of K.S.A. 39-759, and amend-
21 ments thereto, nothing in this section shall prohibit the secretary of social
22 and rehabilitation services from releasing or disclosing information to fa-
23 cilitate such visitation rights.
24 Sec. 2. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 38-1121 is hereby amended to read as
25 follows: 38-1121. (a) The judgment or order of the court determining the
26 existence or nonexistence of the parent and child relationship is deter-
27 minative for all purposes, but if any person necessary to determine the
28 existence of a father and child relationship for all purposes has not been
29 joined as a party, a determination of the paternity of the child shall have
30 only the force and effect of a finding of fact necessary to determine a
31 duty of support.
32 (b) If the judgment or order of the court is at variance with the child's
33 birth certificate, the court shall order that a new birth certificate be is-
34 sued, but only if any man named as the father on the birth certificate is
35 a party to the action.
36 (c) Upon adjudging that a party is the parent of a minor child, the
37 court shall make provision for support and education of the child includ-
38 ing the necessary medical expenses incident to the birth of the child. The
39 court may order the support and education expenses to be paid by either
40 or both parents for the minor child. When the child reaches 18 years of
41 age, the support shall terminate unless: (1) The parent or parents agree,
42 by written agreement approved by the court, to pay support beyond that
43 time; (2) the child reaches 18 years of age before completing the child's
44 high school education in which case the support shall not automatically
45 terminate, unless otherwise ordered by the court, until June 30 of the
46 school year during which the child became 18 years of age if the child is
47 still attending high school; or (3) the child is still a bona fide high school
48 student after June 30 of the school year during which the child became
49 18 years of age, in which case the court, on motion, may order support
50 to continue through the school year during which the child becomes 19
51 years of age so long as the child is a bona fide high school student and
52 the parents jointly participated or knowingly acquiesced in the decision
53 which delayed the child's completion of high school. The court, in ex-
54 tending support pursuant to subsection (c)(3), may impose such condi-
55 tions as are appropriate and shall set the child support utilizing the guide-
56 line table category for 16-year through 18-year old children. Provision for
57 payment of support and educational expenses of a child after reaching 18
58 years of age if still attending high school shall apply to any child subject
59 to the jurisdiction of the court, including those whose support was or-
60 dered prior to July 1, 1992. If an agreement approved by the court prior
61 to July 1, 1988, provides for termination of support before the date pro-
62 vided by subsection (c)(2), the court may review and modify such agree-
63 ment, and any order based on such agreement, to extend the date for
64 termination of support to the date provided by subsection (c)(2). If an
65 agreement approved by the court prior to July 1, 1992, provides for ter-
66 mination of support before the date provided by subsection (c)(3), the
67 court may review and modify such agreement, and any order based on
68 such agreement, to extend the date for termination of support to the date
69 provided by subsection (c)(3). For purposes of this section, "bona fide
70 high school student" means a student who is enrolled in full accordance
71 with the policy of the accredited high school in which the student is
72 pursuing a high school diploma or a graduate equivalency diploma
73 (GED). The judgment shall specify the terms of payment and shall re-
74 quire payment to be made through the clerk of the district court or the
75 court trustee except for good cause shown. The judgment may require
76 the party to provide a bond with sureties to secure payment. The court
77 may at any time during the minority of the child modify or change the
78 order of support, including any order issued in a title IV-D case, within
79 three years of the date of the original order or a modification order, as
80 required by the best interest of the child. If more than three years has
81 passed since the date of the original order or modification order, a re-
82 quirement that such order is in the best interest of the child need not be
83 shown. The court may make a modification of support retroactive to a
84 date at least one month after the date that the motion to modify was filed
85 with the court. Any increase in support ordered effective prior to the date
86 the court's judgment is filed shall not become a lien on real property
87 pursuant to K.S.A. 60-2202, and amendments thereto.
88 (d) If both parents are parties to the action, the court shall enter such
89 orders regarding custody and visitation as the court considers to be in the
90 best interest of the child.
91 (e) In entering an original order for support of a child under this
92 section, the court may award an additional judgment to reimburse the
93 expenses of support and education of the child from the date of birth to
94 the date the order is entered. If the determination of paternity is based
95 upon a presumption arising under K.S.A. 38-1114 and amendments
96 thereto, the court shall award an additional judgment to reimburse all or
97 part of the expenses of support and education of the child from at least
98 the date the presumption first arose to the date the order is entered,
99 except that no additional judgment need be awarded for amounts accrued
100 under a previous order for the child's support.
101 (f) In determining the amount to be paid by a parent for support of
102 the child and the period during which the duty of support is owed, a court
103 enforcing the obligation of support shall consider all relevant facts in-
104 cluding, but not limited to, the following:
105 (1) The needs of the child.
106 (2) The standards of living and circumstances of the parents.
107 (3) The relative financial means of the parents.
108 (4) The earning ability of the parents.
109 (5) The need and capacity of the child for education.
110 (6) The age of the child.
111 (7) The financial resources and the earning ability of the child.
112 (8) The responsibility of the parents for the support of others.
113 (9) The value of services contributed by the custodial parent.
114 (g) The provisions of K.S.A. 23-4,107, and amendments thereto, shall
115 apply to all orders of support issued under this section.
116 (h) An order granting visitation rights pursuant to this section may
117 be enforced in accordance with K.S.A. 23-701, and amendments thereto.
118 (i) The court may issue an order granting visitation rights to a man
119 who has been established as the father of a child pursuant to a title IV-D
120 child support enforcement case.
121 Sec. 3. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 38-1121 is hereby repealed.
122 Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
123 publication in the statute book.