2023 Oregon Revised Statutes › Volume : 03 - Landlord-Tenant, Domestic Relations, Probate › Chapter 109 - Parent and Child Rights and Relationships › Section 109.155 - Hearing; order for payment for support of child and other costs; policy regarding settlement; enforcement of settlement terms; remedies.

(1) The court, in a private hearing, shall first determine the issue of parentage. If the respondent admits the parentage, the admission shall be reduced to writing, verified by the respondent and filed with the court. If the parentage is denied, corroborating evidence, in addition to the testimony of the parent or expectant parent, shall be required.
(2) If the court finds, from a preponderance of the evidence, that the petitioner or the respondent is the father of the child who has been, or who may be born out of wedlock, the court shall then proceed to a determination of the appropriate relief to be granted. The court may approve any settlement agreement reached between the parties and incorporate the agreement into any judgment rendered, and the court may order such investigation or the production of such evidence as the court deems appropriate to establish a proper basis for relief.
(3) The court, in its discretion, may postpone the hearing from time to time to facilitate any investigation or the production of such evidence as it deems appropriate.
(4) The court may order either parent to pay such sum as the court deems appropriate for the past and future support and maintenance of the child during the child’s minority and while the child is attending school, as defined in ORS 107.108, and the reasonable and necessary expenses incurred or to be incurred in connection with prenatal care, expenses attendant with the birth and postnatal care. The court may grant the prevailing party reasonable costs of suit, which may include expert witness fees, and reasonable attorney fees at trial and on appeal. The provisions of ORS 107.108 apply to an order entered under this section for the support of a child attending school.
(5) An affidavit certifying the authenticity of documents substantiating expenses set forth in subsection (4) of this section is prima facie evidence to establish the authenticity of the documents.
(6)(a) It is the policy of this state:
(A) To encourage the settlement of cases brought under this section; and
(B) For courts to enforce the terms of settlements described in paragraph (b) of this subsection to the fullest extent possible, except when to do so would violate the law or would clearly contravene public policy.
(b) In a proceeding under this section, the court may enforce the terms set forth in a stipulated judgment of parentage signed by the parties, a judgment of parentage resulting from a settlement on the record or a judgment of parentage incorporating a settlement agreement:
(A) As contract terms using contract remedies;
(B) By imposing any remedy available to enforce a judgment, including but not limited to contempt; or
(C) By any combination of the provisions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph.
(c) A party may seek to enforce an agreement and obtain remedies described in paragraph (b) of this subsection by filing a motion, serving notice on the other party in the manner provided by ORCP 7 and, if a remedy under paragraph (b)(B) of this subsection is sought, complying with the statutory requirements for that remedy. All claims for relief arising out of the same acts or omissions must be joined in the same proceeding.
(d) Nothing in paragraph (b) or (c) of this subsection limits a party’s ability, in a separate proceeding, to file a motion to set aside, alter or modify a judgment under ORS 109.165 or to seek enforcement of an ancillary agreement to the judgment.
(7) If parentage between a person and a child has been established under ORS 109.065 and the parentage has not been disestablished before proceedings are initiated under ORS 109.125, the court may not render a judgment under ORS 109.124 to 109.230 establishing parentage between another person and the child unless the judgment also disestablishes the parentage established under ORS 109.065. [1969 c.619 §5; 1971 c.137 §1; 1971 c.191 §3; 1973 c.827 §12h; 1975 c.640 §15; 1981 c.897 §33; 1983 c.762 §5; 1989 c.417 §2; 1997 c.704 §57; 1999 c.80 §23; 2001 c.203 §6; 2003 c.576 §140; 2007 c.454 §5; 2017 c.651 §24]