Paternity
FAQ
Establishing paternity isn't as easy as you might think. These frequently asked questions
explain the legal rules involved.
Establishing Legal Paternity in the State of Florida
Florida Drug Screening: DNA Paternity Testing
Florida Statute Addressing Paternity: Statute 742.12
Who is legally recognized as a child's
father?
The question "Who is the father?" is not as simple a question as you might
think. There are important legal distinctions between different situations relating to
paternity.
Acknowledged Father
An acknowledged father is any biological father of a child born to unmarried parents for
whom paternity has been established by either the admission of the father or the agreement
of the parents. An acknowledged father must pay child support.
Presumed Father
If any of the following are true, a man is presumed to be the father of a child, unless he
or the mother proves otherwise to a court:
he was married to the mother when the child was
conceived or born, although some states do not consider a man to be a presumed father if
the couple has separated he attempted to marry the mother (even if the marriage was not
valid) and the child was conceived or born during the "marriage."
he married the mother after the birth and agreed either
to have his name on the birth certificate or to support the child, or
he welcomed the child into his home and openly held the child out as his own.
In some states, the presumption of paternity is considered conclusive, which means it
cannot be disproven, even with contradictory blood tests. In Michael H. v. Gerald D., 491
U.S. 110 (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld California's presumed father statute as a
rational method of protecting the integrity of the family against challenges based on the
due process rights of the father and the child. A presumed father must pay child support.
Equitable Parent
In Michigan (Atkinson v. Atkinson, 408 N.W.2d 516 (1987)) and Wisconsin (In re Paternity
of D.L.H., 419 N.W.2d 283 (1987)),
a spouse who is not a legal parent (biological or adoptive) may be granted custody or
visitation under the notion of equitable parent.
Courts apply this concept when a spouse and child have a
close relationship and consider themselves parent and child or where the biological parent
encouraged this relationship. If the court grants an equitable parent custody or
visitation, then the parent will also be required to pay child support.
Unwed Father
An unmarried man who impregnates a woman is referred to as an unwed father. Unwed fathers
have few rights concerning their children. For example, an unwed father does not have the
right to require the mother of the child to obtain his consent, or even notify him, before
she undergoes an abortion. If the mother decides to bear and keep the child, however, the
unwed father will be required to pay child support if a court determines or he
acknowledges that he's the father; in addition, he has the right to visitation with his
child and may seek custody.
Stepfather
A stepfather is not obligated to support the children of the woman to whom he is married
unless he legally adopts the children.
I want the father of my child to pay
child support. How can I legally establish the paternity of the man whom I know is my
child's father?
A court suit filed to have a man declared the father of a child is called a paternity
action. It can be brought by either the mother or the father. If paternity is established,
the court will order the father to pay child support and grant him custody or visitation
rights.
Today, blood and DNA tests can affirmatively determine
paternity with a 99.99% accuracy, and can rule out paternity with 100% accuracy.
Most paternity actions are initiated by welfare officials who provide TANF (Temporary Aid
to Needy Families) to the mother and are required by law to seek reimbursement from the
father. The mother must cooperate in these proceedings; failure to do so can result in a
reduction or loss of her TANF grant.
Paternity actions are sometimes called establishment hearings, filiation hearings, or
parentage actions.
Adulterine Bastard
Adulterine bastard, though not used in many places, is a term used to describe a child
born to a married woman when the woman's husband is not the father of the child. This may
occur if a woman becomes pregnant by someone other than her husband during the marriage;
if a woman enters the marriage already pregnant (by someone other than her husband); or if
a woman, without her husband's consent, becomes pregnant through artificial insemination
by donor.
In the past, many divorcing husbands attempted to evade paying child support in these
situations, claiming that the children were adulterine bastards and therefore not
"theirs." Many states, however, have laws which irrebuttably presume (that is,
the presumption cannot be disproved) that a child born during a marriage is the child of
the husband, regardless of who the biological father is.
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