Opinion ID: 2616601
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: CSED Must Pay for Paternity Testing.[5]

Text: Alaska Statute 25.27.040 provides in part: Determination of Paternity. (a) The agency shall appear on behalf of minor children or their mother or legal custodian or the state and initiate efforts to have the paternity of children born out of wedlock determined by the court. When the agency is a party in an action in which paternity is contested, it shall request and pay for tests and procedures... . The agency may recover the costs of the tests as a cost of the action, except that costs may not be recovered from ... [an AFDC recipient]. (Emphasis added). A.H. contends that because D.H. is not D.J.'s father, D.J. was born out of wedlock. Furthermore, because she receives AFDC, CSED must pay for paternity testing to determine the paternity of D.J. In Alaska there is a statutory presumption of the husband's paternity. [6] Moreover, we recently adopted [t]he longstanding common law rule ... that a child born to a married woman is presumed to be the offspring of her husband. [7] Smith v. Smith, 845 P.2d 1090, 1092 (Alaska 1993). This presumption can be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence. Id. CSED argues that given the presumption of D.H.'s paternity, D.J. was not born out-of-wedlock for purposes of AS 25.27.040(a); therefore, CSED has no duty to pay for paternity testing. We disagree. A.H. and D.H. each filed affidavits that D.J. is not D.H.'s child. There is no evidence of collusion on their part. For the limited purpose of construing AS 25.27.040(a)  i.e., whether a paternity action is contested  we hold that these unimpeached affidavits constitute clear and convincing evidence sufficient to rebut the presumption of D.H.'s paternity and to require CSED to pay for paternity testing. [8]