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Ohio bill would create rebuttable 50/50 custody presumption for children of unmarried parents
Summary
Sponsors said House Bill 256 would modernize Ohio law by creating a rebuttable presumption of equal parenting time when paternity is established; committee members pressed on interactions with the putative father registry, abuse exceptions and surrogacy cases. The bill received sponsor testimony and committee questions; no vote was taken.
Representative Josh Williams and co-sponsor Representative LaRae opened the House Judiciary Committee’s first hearing on House Bill 256, saying the measure aims to update Ohio law so children born to unmarried parents begin on equal footing.
"This bill ensures that fathers who meet Ohio standards of an established parent and child relationship or whose names appear on their child's birth certificate are granted equal rights and responsibilities," Williams told the committee, urging a rebuttable presumption toward "50/50" parenting time when paternity is established.
Sponsors said the bill does not eliminate the mother’s ability to seek a judicial determination and preserves courts’ discretion to limit parenting time where abuse or other barriers justify restrictions. Ranking Member Sundenberg asked how HB 256 would interact with the state's putative father registry; Williams replied the bill would not change the registry’s role, which primarily operates to protect adoption notice rights.
Committee members pressed whether prior domestic-violence convictions or other abuse allegations would block the presumption. Williams said courts would still consider abuse that occurred while a child was present and could assign supervised visitation or award full custody as appropriate, stressing the legislation would not "tie the court's hands" on protection decisions.
Members also asked about surrogacy scenarios. Williams said he had not analyzed surrogacy case law in depth and that the bill follows existing statutory language addressing children born to unmarried mothers; he said the bill creates a rebuttable presumption that would apply when paternity is established by affidavit, birth certificate, or adjudication.
The hearing closed after questions and sponsor responses. No committee vote or formal action on the bill was recorded during this session.
The committee is expected to decide whether to report HB 256 to the full House at a later meeting after additional consideration and any potential amendments.
