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CHAPTER 6 PATERNITY. Chapter 6. Paternity. Proving Paternity Paternity Illegitimate child Children born outside of marriage are typically excluded from most rights Right to inherit from a parent per the state intestacy laws Right to sue for wrongful death. Chapter 6. Paternity.
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Chapter 6 Paternity • Proving Paternity • Paternity • Illegitimate child • Children born outside of marriage are typically excluded from most rights • Right to inherit from a parent per the state intestacy laws • Right to sue for wrongful death
Chapter 6 Paternity • Proving Paternity (continued) • Exclusionary behavior was found to violate the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause • Levy case invalidated state inheritance, custody, and tort laws that put children of unmarried parents at a disadvantage • One Side of the Story: Michelle is Expecting • The Other Side of the Story: Johnny is Denying
Chapter 6 Paternity • DNA: To Test or Not To Test • Describe a DNA test
Chapter 6 Paternity • Proving Paternity and Getting Support • National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws • Uniform Parentage Act of 1973 • All children treated equally without regard for the marital status of the parents • The Act established a set of rules that abolished the term illegitimate and established the phrase “a child with no presumed father”
Chapter 6 Paternity • Proving Paternity and Getting Support (continued) • Changes to the Act of 1973 as proposed in 2000 and amended in 2002 • Meeting the challenges of adapting to recent scientific reproduction developments • Providing guidelines for state Registry of Paternity to deal with the rights of a man who is not an acknowledged, presumed or adjudicated father • Provide comprehensive coverage of genetic testing • Bringing more necessary consistency between the UPA and the 1996 and 2001 versions of UIFSA
Chapter 6 Paternity • Proving Paternity and Getting Support (continued) • Registries of Paternity • Designed to allow fathers to voluntarily go to declare himself the biological father of a child
Chapter 6 Paternity • Proving Paternity and Getting Support (continued) • Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of Support Act (URESA) • Revised with UIFSA • Created a more effective framework for child support enforcement of interstate cases • Establish and enforce a support order, modify a support order, and determine parentage with or without, an accompanying establishment of support
Chapter 6 Paternity • Location, Location, Location: Proving Paternity Across America • All states required to create statutes to deal with paternity questions
Chapter 6 Paternity • Location, Location, Location: Proving Paternity Across America (continued) • California law considers a man to be the presumed father if any of the three occur: • The man and natural mother are married 300 days before the child was born • Before the birth of the child, the mother and father attempt to marry • Following the child’s birth, he and the mother are married • He consents to be named as the child’s father • He signs a voluntary promise to support the child as his natural child • He openly acknowledges the child as his own
Chapter 6 Paternity • Location, Location, Location: Proving Paternity Across America (continued) • Texas Law • If the man refused to take a DNA test then the burden is on him to prove that he is not the father of the child
Chapter 6 Paternity • Procedure Must Be Followed • Federal Government • Title IV-D agencies are part of the federal statutes • Each state required to have a simple civil process for voluntarily acknowledging paternity and a civil procedure for establishing paternity in contested cases • Each state must do its best to secure support for a child • Bottom Line
Chapter 6 Paternity • Make Room for Daddy • If the father refuses to admit paternity then the mother has the right to file a complaint for paternity • Review a Complaint for Paternity (Exhibit 6:1)
Chapter 6 Paternity • Motivation Spelled L A W S U I T • Review the Paternity Evaluation Laboratory Report (Exhibit 6:2) • What’s the Next Step After a Positive DNA Test? • Father could voluntarily agree to help support the child
Chapter 6 Paternity • What’s the Next Step After a Positive DNA Test? (continued) • Mother could go to Court and get an order that provides for: • Determination of parentage • Reasonable expenses for the mothers pregnancy and postpartum disability • Child support • Attorney fees and court costs
Chapter 6 Paternity • Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity • Acknowledgement of Paternity to be filed with the State registry of birth records • Review the Voluntary Declaration of Paternity (Exhibit 6:3) • UPA promotes the importance of a parentage registry • Termination of Parental Rights
Chapter 6 Paternity • Fighting the Biological Father: Hit the Road, Jack! • Understand the presumed father laws within your state
Chapter 6 Paternity • No Facts in Dispute? • Summary judgment motion • Clear and convincing evidence • Preponderance of the evidence • Beyond a reasonable doubt • The Department of Public Aid ex rel. Vicki Galbraith v. Jeff Jones
Chapter 6 Paternity • DNA Wins Over Vasectomy • Kesselring v. Kesselring • Biological Father Battles Presumed Father • Prima facie evidence • In the Interest of J.W.T., a minor child
Chapter 6 Paternity • Ethics Alert: • Is the alternative law firm following legal and ethical guidelines?
