- A. The support enforcement agency shall initiate legal action to establish paternity when paternity is at issue as specified in Family Law Article, §5-1006, Annotated Code of Maryland.
B. Within 90 days of locating the alleged father, the support enforcement agency shall:
- (1) Legally establish paternity;
- (2) Exclude the alleged father as the biological father; or
- (3) Complete service of process, if necessary, to commence proceedings to establish paternity.
- C. If an alleged father is excluded, but another alleged father has been identified, the support enforcement agency shall initiate paternity action against the newly identified alleged father.
- D. In a TCA case in which the custodial parent fails to cooperate without good cause, the prosecutor may file the petition with the State named as the plaintiff.
- E. If attempts at service of process are unsuccessful, the support enforcement agency shall document the unsuccessful attempts.
Authority: Family Law Article, §§5-1005—5-1048, and 10-301—10-359, Annotated Code of Maryland
(Agency Note: Federal Regulatory Reference — 45 CFR §§302.31, 303.5, and 305.24)
Effective date: March 22, 1999 (26:6 Md. R. 482)
Regulation .02A amended effective October 20, 2008 (35:21 Md. R. 1824)
Regulation .03 amended effective October 31, 2011 (38:22 Md. R. 1344)
Regulation .04 amended effective February 4, 2013 (40:2 Md. R. 72); April 28, 2014 (41:8 Md. R. 469)