New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 8 - SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter 50 - CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT PROGRAM
Part 107 - DETERMINATION OF PARENTAGE
Section 8.50.107.8 - DETERMINATION OF PARENTAGE
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A determination of parentage is necessary for the establishment of child support.
The Title IV-D agency extends full faith and credit to a determination of parentage made by another jurisdiction, whether established through voluntary acknowledgment or through administrative or judicial process. Alleged fathers may initiate parentage actions through the Title IV-D agency. The Title IV-D agency may petition a court of competent jurisdiction to establish parentage so long as the dependent child is still under the age of majority.
A. Federal time-frames and requirements for establishment of parentage. The IV-D agency shall establish an order for support or complete service of process necessary to commence proceedings to establish a support order and, if necessary, parentage (or document unsuccessful attempts to serve process) within 90 calendar days of locating the alleged father or non-custodial parent. (45 CFR Section 303.4(d)).
B. The Title IV-D agency is not required to establish parentage or pursue genetic testing in any case involving incest or rape, or in any case in which legal proceedings for adoption are pending, or if, in the opinion of the IV-D agency, it would not be in the best interests of the child.
C. The Title IV-D agency may identify and use laboratories that perform, at reasonable cost, legally and medically acceptable genetic tests that tend to identify the biological parent or exclude the alleged biological parent. The IV-D agency may make available a list of such laboratories to appropriate courts and law enforcement officials, and to the public upon request.
D. The Title IV-D agency may seek entry of a default order by the court or administrative authority in a parentage case according to state law and rules of procedure regarding default orders.
E. The Title IV-D agency may seek to establish maternity in compliance with the New Mexico Uniform Parentage Act, as appropriate.
F. The IV-D agency will not initiate an action to rescind or disestablish parentage.
G. If a child in a Title IV-D case has an acknowledged, presumed, or an adjudicated father as defined within the New Mexico Uniform Parentage Act, then parentage has been determined and the Title IV-D agency will pursue the establishment of support on behalf of or against the parent, as appropriate.
