                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

JUDGMENT OR ORDER; COSTS; BIRTH RECORD (§ 20-49.8)

A. As used in this section, &#8220;pregnancy and delivery expenses&#8221; means
an amount equal to the sum of a pregnant mother&#8217;s reasonable and necessary
medical costs, minus any portion of such sum that a court determines is
equitable based on the totality of the circumstances. Any amount paid by either
parent may be credited by a court.

B. A judgment or order establishing parentage may include any provision directed
against the appropriate party to the proceeding, concerning the duty of support,
including an equitable apportionment of the expenses incurred on behalf of the
child from the date the proceeding under this chapter was filed with the court
against the alleged parent or, if earlier, the date an order of the Department
of Social Services entered pursuant to Title 63.2 and directing payment of
support was delivered to the sheriff or process server for service upon the
obligor. The judgment or order may be in favor of the natural parent or any
other person or agency who incurred such expenses provided the complainant
exercised due diligence in the service of the respondent. The judgment or order
may also include provisions for the custody and guardianship of the child,
visitation privileges with the child, or any other matter in the best interest
of the child. In circumstances where the parent is outside the jurisdiction of
the court, the court may enter a further order requiring the furnishing of bond
or other security for the payment required by the judgment or order. In the
event that the initial petition for the establishment of parentage is commenced
within six months of the live birth of a child, the judgment or order shall,
except for good cause shown or as otherwise agreed to by the parties, apportion
between the legal parents, in proportion to the legal parents&#8217; gross
incomes, as used for calculating the monthly child support obligation pursuant
to &#xA7; 20-108.2, (i) the mother&#8217;s unreimbursed pregnancy and delivery
expenses and (ii) those reasonable expenses incurred by either parent for the
benefit of the child prior to the birth of the child. However, when the
Commonwealth, through the Medicaid program or other government program, has paid
such expenses, the court may order reimbursement to the Commonwealth for such
expenses.

C. A determination of paternity made by any other state shall be given full
faith and credit, whether established through voluntary acknowledgment or
through administrative or judicial process; provided, however, that, except as
may otherwise be required by law, such full faith and credit shall be given only
for the purposes of establishing a duty to make payments of support and other
payments contemplated by subsection B.

D. For each court determination of parentage made under the provisions of this
chapter, a certified copy of the order or judgment shall be transmitted to the
State Registrar of Vital Records by the clerk of the court within thirty days
after the order becomes final. Such order shall set forth the full name and date
and place of birth of the person whose parentage has been determined, the full
names of both parents, including the maiden name, if any, of the mother and the
name and address of an informant who can furnish the information necessary to
complete a new birth record. In addition, when the State Registrar receives a
document signed by a man indicating his consent to submit to scientifically
reliable genetic tests, including blood tests, to determine paternity and the
genetic test results affirming at least a ninety-eight percent probability of
paternity, a new birth record shall be completed as provided in &#xA7; 32.1-261.
When the State Registrar receives a copy of a judgment or order for a person
born outside of this Commonwealth, such order shall be forwarded to the
appropriate registration authority in the state of birth or the appropriate
federal agency.

HISTORY: 1988, cc. 866, 878; 1990, c. 615; 1992, c. 867; 1994, c. 869; 1996, c.
491; 1998, c. 592; 2023, cc. 570, 571.