Custody & Kidnapping

USE THIS VERSION IF THE MAN WANTS TO DISPROVE PATERNITY: There are various situations where a man may want to disprove his paternity in court. Although he may have already signed an affidavit of paternity to establish legal paternity or he may have been established as the legal father through marriage, he may now want to contest (fight) the fact that he is the father. Sometimes this happens because someone else has been proven to be the father by a DNA test or he suddenly believes that he isn’t the father for another reason. Often times, judges may consider how long it has been since the man has held himself out as the father and what type of understanding the child has about the man being the father. If it has been many years that the child thinks of the man as his father and the father never filed in court to disclaim paternity for many years even though he may have doubted his legal paternity, it may be possible that a judge would say he is “equitably estopped” from now saying he isn’t the father. In other words, due to fairness to the child, the father may be prohibited from trying to disprove his legal paternity. However, a different judge under the same circumstances may allow the father to disprove his paternity perhaps - it is hard to say what may happen in STATE since I am not specifically familiar with the laws there and it may depend on the individual situation. You may really want to talk to a lawyer in your state who you can explain your case to and get advice. We have some legal referrals here: LINK

USE THIS VERSION IF THE MOTHER SAYS THAT HE IS ON THE BIRTH CERT BUT SHE WANTS TO DISPROVE THAT HE IS THE BIO FATHER:

Generally, once an affidavit of paternity is signed (and the man’s name is on the birth certificate), the man is legally recognized as the child’s father whether or not he is biologically the father. It may be possible to file in court to disprove someone’s paternity and therefore invalidate the legal paternity rights that were established. However, the judge will usually first look at whether or not doing so is in the child’s best interests. Often times, judges may consider how long it has been since the man has held himself out as the father and what type of understanding the child has about the man being the father. If it has been many years that the child thinks of the man as their father, it may be possible that a judge would say he is “equitably estopped” from anyone now saying he isn’t the father. In other words, due to fairness to the child, either parent may be prohibited from trying to disprove legal paternity. However, a different judge under the same circumstances may allow the father’s paternity to be disproven perhaps - it is hard to say what may happen in your specific situation. You may really want to talk to a lawyer in your state who you can explain your case to and get advice. We have some legal referrals on our Finding a Lawyer page.