Good Cause in a Paternity Action in Arizona | Hildebrand Law, PC

Thu 2nd Mar, 2017 Arizona Paternity Laws

A married man in Arizona is the presumed father of a child born during the marriage. However, another person may bring a paternity action, and the court can order blood testing to make the determination. Can it reject blood testing by applying the “good cause” requirement in Rule 35(a) of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure? In Antonsen v. Superior Court, 918 P.2d 203 (1996) the Arizona Court of Appeals considered the issue.

Case Facts

The Antonsen’s were married on January 9, 1990. The wife had a child, “B,” in July of the same year. Four years later, the Husband filed for divorce naming B as a child of the marriage. He requested custody of B and a subsequent child born to the couple.

In February 1995, Mr. Witt filed a paternity complaint charging that he was B’s natural father. The state child support division asked for paternity testing in the dissolution case. The Commissioner, Patricia Shaler-Reed, granted this motion pending post-hearing briefing.

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The husband’s post-hearing memorandum stated that he did not oppose paternity testing. The Commissioner nonetheless reversed the ruling and denied the motion for paternity testing. She said that the petition failed to show good cause required by Rule 35 of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure. However, three days later, she signed an “Order for Blood Test” ordering paternity testing at the state’s expense.

In May 1995, Judge Pro Tem Toby Maureen Gerst consolidated the dissolution and the paternity action. She ordered blood testing according to Commissioner Shaler-Reed’s order. She also awarded temporary custody of the child to the wife. Noting child abuse allegations against the Husband, she granted him supervised visitation.

Blood sample results were submitted to the trial court. Judge Joseph Howe denied a motion to exclude the blood testing results. However, when he learned about the confusion that occurred about the order, he said he would investigate. He stated that if the order for paternity testing were a mistake, he would seal the results.

In the meantime, in August of 1995, Wife filed a motion for paternity testing according to A.R.S. section 12-847(C). She alleged that the Husband was not the child’s father and that he knew it when they married. She argued that blood testing was required under A.R.S. section 12-847(C), and that “good cause” existed to order such testing.

The husband opposed this, and Judge Howe entered an extensive ruling on all pending motions. The judge ruled that the paternity test results be sealed and excluded from evidence. He also denied the motions for paternity testing, noting that Commissioner Shaler-Reed had vacated the order for paternity testing. The wife filed this Special Action appeal on December 11, 1995.

Relationship of Rule 35(a) and A.R.S. section 12-847(C)

Good Cause in a Paternity Action in Arizona.

Rule 35(a) of the Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure provides that the court can only order blood testing if good cause is shown. The statute permitting paternity testing has no such requirement.

The Court first considered whether Commissioner Shaler-Reed abused her discretion in applying the good cause requirement to this issue. The Court reviewed decisions in other states that have addressed this issue. It found three general groups of decisions.

First, states that do not have a statute requiring blood testing upon request of a party apply their similar version of Rule 35(a) to paternity cases. They need both “good cause” and notice to all sides and leave the decision to the court’s discretion. They find good cause if one of the presumptive parents controverts paternity.

The second group of cases involves jurisdictions that have adopted specific statutes requiring the court to order genetic testing in a paternity action. These states have found that the mandatory language in the paternity statute takes precedence over the discretion afforded a trial court.

The third group of court cases refuses to allow paternity testing even under a particular paternity law. These cases refuse testing when a third party, rather than either of the presumptive parents, challenges paternity. In such cases, a finding of “the best interests of the child” is required before ordering a paternity blood test.

Arizona has a strong public policy of preserving a family unit unless the mother or her husband challenges the husband’s paternity. Because of that policy, the Court of Appeals ruled that a trial court must specifically consider the child’s best interests. It must make this determination before allowing a third party to seek blood tests to rebut the presumption of the husband’s paternity.

In Arizona, however, the rule is different when a child’s mother contests her husband’s paternity. The “best interests of the child” determination cannot prevent mandatory paternity testing under A.R.S. section 12-847(C). The best interests of the child determination are made after the resolution of biological paternity shows that the presumptive father is not biologically related to the child.

Cases preventing mandatory testing for policy reasons don’t apply since Wife asserts that the Husband is not the biological father. The husband’s contention that construing the language of A.R.S. section 12-847(C) as mandatory would compel frivolous testing is misplaced here.

The child’s mother contests her husband’s paternity. He was not married to her at the time of conception. Here, the trial court had no discretion to deny a request for blood testing. A.R.S. section 12-847(C) authorizes a suit by a mother contesting the husband’s paternity. Wife established “good cause” for testing under Rule 35(a) by allegations that the Husband was not the child’s father.

The Court of Appeals noted that the legislature wrote “good cause” into the statute by creating limitations. The law requires paternity testing only upon the motion of a “party to the proceedings.” That means an action by the mother, father, child’s best friend, public welfare official, or the state, or upon the court’s motion.

By narrowing the category of who can bring a paternity proceeding, the legislature implicitly determined who has “good cause” to request mandatory paternity testing. A “stranger” cannot obtain mandatory paternity testing where both presumptive parents assert paternity.

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Disposition

The Court of Appeals found that the trial court abused its discretion in denying Wife’s motion for blood testing. It directed the court to grant mother’s request for paternity testing and to admit the results in the paternity action. It noted that if a trial court determines that Husband is not either a biological parent of B, it does not have jurisdiction to make an award of custody or visitation to him.

If you have questions about good cause in a paternity action in an Arizona divorce case, you should seriously consider contacting the attorneys at Hildebrand Law, PC. Our Arizona paternity and family law attorneys have decades of combined experience successfully representing clients in paternity and family law cases.

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Call us today at (480)305-8300 or reach out to us through our appointment scheduling form to schedule your personalized consultation and turn your Arizona paternity or family law case around today.

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Good Cause in a Paternity Action in Arizona | Hildebrand Law, PC

Table of Contents

Case Facts

Relationship of Rule 35(a) and A.R.S. section 12-847(C)

Disposition

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