Request By:
Mr. George A. Lohmeier
Assistant to the Prosecutor
Courthouse
Martinsville, Indiana 46151
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Charles W. Runyan, Assistant Deputy Attorney General
Kentucky adopted a uniform act on paternity: KRS Chapter 406. In addition, Kentucky adopted the Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act: KRS 407.010 et seq.
You ask whether KRS Chapter 407 authorizes paternity actions. We assume a divorced woman has requested your office to initiate support action for herself or dependents under Indiana's Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act; that the paternity of one of her children is in issue; and that she desires a paternity adjudication in order to obtain support for the child in question.
KRS 407.170 provides in part that "all duties of support" are enforceable by action under this chapter. (Emphasis added). KRS 407.410 provides that once the issue of paternity has been determined according to the laws of this state or in any other state, the obligor cannot use the defense of nonpaternity in an action under this chapter.
The answer to your question is that under Kentucky's Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act, the issue of paternity may be raised by the plaintiff or defendant unless it has been previously judicially determined.
Department of Economic Security v. Shanklin, Ky., 514 S.W 2d 682 (1974). See also KRS 406.011, providing that the father of a child born out of wedlock is liable, to the same extent as the father of a child born in wedlock, for the reasonable expense of the mother's pregnancy and confinement and for the education, necessary support and funeral expenses of the child. KRS 406.051 provides that all remedies under the U.R.E.S.A. are available for enforcement of duties of support under this chapter. The above mentioned statutes and court decision attest the interlocking nature of KRS Chapters 406 and 407.
Question No. 2:
"If so, what are the limitations, requirements for initiating states, and the proper procedures to be followed by initiating states?"
As concerns the filing of a complaint for support, see KRS 407.180. Jurisdiction of the responding court in Kentucky is vested in the circuit or county court. KRS 407.170. See also KRS 406.021, concerning allegations relating to paternity. KRS 407.250 relates to the duty of the Kentucky court as responding court.
We are enclosing copies of KRS 406.011, 406.021, 406.031 [limitation of action], 407.180, and 407.250 for your information.