Get a DNA Test Fast if You Think You're Not the Dad
Saturday / May 19, 2007
Think you might not be the father? Better get a DNA test now because later might be too late.
The Internet has been abuzz over the Arkansas Supreme Court's decision in Martin v. Pierce. In that case, the Arkansas Supreme Court held that a man whom a DNA test ruled out as the father of one of the children of the marriage nevertheless had to pay child support.
This decision is nothing new. When children are born during marriage, they are presumed to be the children of the husband. If a husband thinks he might not be the father of a child born during marriage, he had better raise that issue during the divorce, or he might be barred from raising it forever, as in the Arkansas case.
Consider the facts of that case: The mother and father divorced in 1997. In the divorce decree, the mother and the father affirmed that both of the children were the father's. Later, in 2004, the mother cited the father for contempt of court for failing to pay child support. In defense, the father claimed that one of the child was not his. DNA tests proved him right. But the court would not relieve the man of his child support obligation even though the man was not the father. The court said that the man should have raised this issue during the divorce instead of agreeing that the children were his.
The Arkansas court mentioned a prior Arkansas decision in which the court identified a number of other states that prohibit raising the issue of paternity after divorce. These states included Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Vermont.
Even if a man can challenge paternity after divorce, usually he must make that challenge within a fairly short time. On February 1, 2007, the Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion stating that a man who failed to challenge paternity within one year after divorce was barred from challenging it later. That court listed a number of states following the same rule, including Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Vermont.
What's the lesson here? If you think you might not be the father - or even if you have no reason to think you might not be the father - you had better get a DNA test during your divorce proceedings or you might be barred from challenging paternity later.
This decision is nothing new. When children are born during marriage, they are presumed to be the children of the husband. If a husband thinks he might not be the father of a child born during marriage, he had better raise that issue during the divorce, or he might be barred from raising it forever, as in the Arkansas case.
Consider the facts of that case: The mother and father divorced in 1997. In the divorce decree, the mother and the father affirmed that both of the children were the father's. Later, in 2004, the mother cited the father for contempt of court for failing to pay child support. In defense, the father claimed that one of the child was not his. DNA tests proved him right. But the court would not relieve the man of his child support obligation even though the man was not the father. The court said that the man should have raised this issue during the divorce instead of agreeing that the children were his.
The Arkansas court mentioned a prior Arkansas decision in which the court identified a number of other states that prohibit raising the issue of paternity after divorce. These states included Alabama, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and Vermont.
Even if a man can challenge paternity after divorce, usually he must make that challenge within a fairly short time. On February 1, 2007, the Florida Supreme Court issued an opinion stating that a man who failed to challenge paternity within one year after divorce was barred from challenging it later. That court listed a number of states following the same rule, including Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas and Vermont.
What's the lesson here? If you think you might not be the father - or even if you have no reason to think you might not be the father - you had better get a DNA test during your divorce proceedings or you might be barred from challenging paternity later.