SB141 Activity in the Missouri Senate

ALERT - SENATE DEBATE and VOTE SCHEDULED

Calendar Position 24 on March 18, 2009

SB141 STATUS FROM THE MISSOURI SENATE WEBSITE

The Missouri Senate Committee on General Laws has voted “Do Pass” on SB141.  The bill that would help end Paternity Fraud in Missouri.  After we received the great news that the bill is moving forward in the Senate the following Press Release was received from State Senator Jeff Smith’s office in Jefferson City:

JEFFERSON CITY — A Senate panel is considering a bill (Senate Bill 141) proposed by Senator Jeff Smith, D-St. Louis, that supports a non-custodial father’s right to challenge paternity judgments in instances where new DNA evidence reveals the petitioner is not the child’s father. The bill is under consideration by the General Laws Committee.

Under the proposed legislation, a father excluded as a child’s biological father through DNA testing could be relieved of child support payments and have criminal non-support records expunged.   “This is about restoring justice for men who, often for reasons beyond their control, have found themselves legally obligated to support children who are not theirs,” Smith said.

Smith’s proposal also reforms the notification process for contacting men who have had a paternity judgment entered against them, and it increases the time a defendant has to challenge paternity.  “Given St. Louis’s large transient population — nearly one-third of St. Louis public school students are homeless at some point during the school year, for instance — one can imagine how difficult is it to notify fathers of paternity under the current law that allows only 60 days for fathers to contest judgments,” Smith said. “Often, these defendants are low-income men who are not easily reached, or unfamiliar with the process or their rights, and a judgment of paternity is issued before they have a chance to respond or question paternity.”

During a public hearing on Tuesday (2/3), several St. Louis presumed fathers who were cleared of paternity, along with representatives from the Fathers’ Support Center in St. Louis, testified in support of Smith’s proposed legislation. “The FSC does an excellent job protecting fathers’ rights and helping them get their lives back on track,” said Smith….

Now it’s time for more of YOUR HELP!  Call, Write, or Email your Missouri State Senator NOW to encourage them to move this bill to the floor of the Senate and get it passed!

Missouri Senate Makes Progress on SB141 - Paternity Fraud Legislation

This week Missouri Senate Bill 141 (SB141) progressed further in the Missouri Senate.  The Fiscal Notes and an initial Hearing in front of the General Laws Committee occured.

We’ll post more information as it’s received.  Of particular note is that the Fiscal Notes (which indicates potential costs to proposed bills) is IDENTICAL to the Fiscal Note from last years House Bill.  To summarize the Fiscal Note:

The Attorney Generals Office expects no financial costs

The State Courts Administrators Office expects no financial costs

The Department of Health and Senior Services expects no financial costs

The Department of Social Services - Family Support Division anticipates costs IDENTICAL to last years projections.  Of particular interest is when you drill down through the assumptions the costs that they do estimate seem to be either temporary or taken against future revenues.  That is to say that DSS-FSD anticipates no increases in staff or facilities to be required and that the direct losses of revenues they expect would be recovered in the future when they Make the Real Dad Pay.  Although, they don’t state it exactly that way in the Fiscal Note.

The Kansas City Star Covers Kansas, but not Missouri Paternity Reform

The Kansas City Star covered the effort in the Kansas Legislature to rid their state of paternity fraud.  But searching their website fails to see where they’re covering the effort in Missouri.

Fortunantly, one of our members posted comments on the stories!  Thank You!

The stories are:

‘Presumed father’ issue

Kansas bill aims to fix ‘presumed father’ quandary

Mo Senator Jeff Smith submits SB141 in Missouri

Third Try at Bat for Paternity Fraud Victims in Missouri

On December 22, 2008 Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith (D 4th District) introduced SB141 for the 2009 Legislative Session of the Missouri Senate.

SB141 is essentially the same as HB 2322 (2008) and the MakeTheRealDadPay.org model legislation for Missouri.  The official summary (from the Missouri State Senate Website) states:

“SB 141 - This act provides that a petitioner may at any time file a petition to challenge entry of a judgment of paternity and child support upon filing an affidavit stating that evidence exists which was not considered before entry of judgment. Such petition shall also include either an allegation that genetic testing was conducted within the past 90 days using DNA methodology, was performed by an expert, and that the test results indicate a 99% or greater probability that the petitioner is not the child’s father or a request to the court for an order of genetic paternity testing using DNA methodology.

The court shall grant relief and enter judgment setting aside the previous judgment of paternity and child support, including a previous acknowledgment of paternity, extinguish any existing child support arrearage, and order the Department of Health and Senior Services to modify the child’s birth certificate accordingly upon a finding that the genetic test was properly conducted, accurate, and indicates a 99% or greater probability that the petitioner is not the child’s father. The provisions of this act shall not apply to grant relief to the parent of any adopted child.”

This isn’t perfect legislation..  But it’s very good and passable legislation that will free the victims of Paternity Fraud in Missouri.  MakeTheRealDadPay.org is wholeheartedly in favor of SB141 and you should be too.

Children are the Victims of Paternity Fraud

There is no doubt that paternity fraud is harming our families and children. Consider this…A Woman’s Day poll shows that 50%+ of the respondents would willingly lie about paternity in order to secure child support. Women who named potential fathers either lied or had no idea when after DNA Testing over 30% of these men were found to not be the father of the child. But the State has decided that they want the victims of paternity fraud to have no recourse. That if you, your husband, your son, your father is named as “the dad” then they will pay… forever. And the damage this does to marriages, families, the health of the victim and his family and on the misnamed children as well is both very real and totally unnecessary.

And it looks like your all alone with nowhere to go. Pleading to Legislatures to put truth and justice into the system falls on deaf ears. States collect Federal funds based on their child support enforcement collections. As long as they can name anyone and make them pay the State Government gets the benefit of Federal money. There arn’t support groups, financial assistance, counseling, or any other help available to the families who are paying for children they had no part in bringing in to this world. “But what about these children?” is a common rebuke we hear. Well, what about them? The lack of a true family medical history is endangering these children because their mother has decided to lie about who their father really is. They are emotionally damaged due to the lie their mother constructed for them to live. This cannot be fixed by simply stealing money for them. Only the real truth, honestly faced can.

This fraud only benefits a mother who doesn’t know which man is the real dad, and/or chooses to lie about it. This is not in the best interest of our children. Many States consider their forcing non-biological “fathers” to pay is part of mandating parental relationships with the children. Most of the cases we’ve seen the mothers are preventing contact, have moved away, or they have never had contact with the children. In some cases this may be the man’s choice. However there are hundreds of thousands of cases where all these mothers really want is the money. They do not believe that having a father in their child’s life is important and even if they do they are ignoring the real father of the child. Once the children know that the man they have known as “dad” is not their father this does damage to these kids that will never heal. Where they really come from and who is the real dad are questions that stress them out even further. All because their mother either doesn’t know who fathered her children or has chosen to lie about it.

Then, looking at the biological children of the falsley accused man….They have to bear the result of their real father beset with financial burdons, physical and mental stress, and likely depression. These children will suffer emotionally, physically, and financially their entire lives. Many times these children are in an environment filled with stress, hardship, and marital difficulty caused solely by paternity fraud. These hardships should not have to be endured by them. They see that by lying and committing fraud they can benefit. What kind of message are we sending to these kids? Allowing paternity fraud is definitely not in their best interest.

We need to end this injustice to our children. We need to make a positive example in Missouri and show every other State that paternity fraud will not be tolerated here. The time to end paternity fraud in Missouri is now. Our children cannot afford less.

Missouri Supreme Court Denies DNA Paternity Proof

Recently Cynthia Fox wrote in the St. Louis Suburban Journals that — “Not long ago, Missouri’s Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, handed down a potentially significant decision in a case that began as a simple paternity matter, but evolved into a criminal case where fundamental tenets of American law such as the presumption of innocence and guilt beyond a reasonable doubt came under question.”

The case is extreme, but in real life it boils down to a man was found to be the father of a child that wasn’t his.  He had a civil judgement against him.  A prosecuting attorney brought a crimminal case against the man for non-support.  And the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri denied this man the opportunity to have a DNA test exhonerate him.

Near the end of her article Ms. Fox stated, “As someone who has chased after many a deadbeat dad, my first reaction was: “Yahoo, the ‘good guys’ won!” Yet, as the case lingered in my mind, that changed to: “But, at what price?” Three Supreme Court judges dissented, including Chief Justice Wolff. Their concern was that the presumption of innocence accorded criminal defendants and the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt were being set aside.”

What isn’t said in this article that in both 2007 and again in 2008 bills were introduced in the Missouri House and Senate that would have ended Paternity Fraud in Missouri.  These laws would Make the Real Dad Pay while protecting innocent men who are being bankrupted by a broken legal system.

It’s time to call your State Representative, Write your State Senator, and demand that Missouri join the many states who now are more concerned with Making the Real Dad Pay instead of persecuting innocent families.

Paternity Fraud an Injustice to the Children Involved

In a story in the Kansas City Star a day ago, another in the STL Post Dispatch a month ago, 290 days ago KC Channel 4, and more and more news stories about the legalized theft caused by paternity fraud in Missouri….

Missouri’s antiquated laws are denying Truth and Justice when it comes to defrauding families via Paternity Fraud.

A man in Kansas City seperated from his wife… 18 months later she bears a child from another man… She states IN COURT that her husband IS NOT THE FATHER… But that (and a DNA Test proving it) isn’t enough in Missouri….

That man, defrauded by antiquated Missouri Laws is now in jail because he is innocent. Many hundreds of families are being affected each year.. Being told it does not matter what the truth is. They’re convenient, and the govenment can take their hard earned money.. Denying the victims own children of a better lifestyle, robbed of their college savings, being forced to live in substandard conditions, being denied the benefits of their own families hard work because of Paternity Fraud in Missouri.

Call or email your legislators and tell them you support the protection of innocent families by people who promote paternity Fraud in Missouri.