I thought the child was mine....but I was wrong!
I was so happy when my child was born. Yes, we were not married, but we planned on it! I happily signed the Acknowledgement of Paternity as a proud first time father. Fast forward years later, I found myself exhausted after another screaming session with my child’s mother. We never did get married. She left me for another man, and I was left with nothing but a court order declaring me the legal father of the child I have been raising since his birth. I tried so hard to stay prominent in his life. He was my everything. I paid my child support (as she was awarded the primary custody), went to every school event (even if it was in secret), and proudly hung the photos of the two of us at his elementary school graduation on my living room wall. It had been difficult, but it had been worth it. Yet, tonight, I received a text from my friend saying he overheard my child’s mother telling someone else that my son was not my son. I was not his biological father. This whole thing had been a joke. My life for the past few years has been a joke. And I was the center of it, being played like a fool….
This may sound like a page out of a bad television show. However, to many, this is reality. Aside from the emotional trauma and pain that need to be sorted out and healed, the legal side must also be taken care of. Unfortunately, the process is not as easy as stopping the payment of child support and walking away from it all.
First, you need to have the court declare that you are not the biological father. That requires you to file a lawsuit in court.
Then, you need to go through the steps necessary to prove that you are not the biological father. This may be difficult if you have previously signed a document stating that you are the father, and you already have court orders in place making you the legal father. You may need to take a DNA test and explain why you were mistaken previously.
And what about all that money you paid? Depending on the situation and the age of the child at the time the suit is filed, you may be able to request some of it back, along with your attorney’s fees and costs for having to bring this matter to court. Oh, and you probably want to ask for the child support to stop too.
Depending on whether you had acknowledged paternity as a mistake, or as intentional fraud by the mother, the steps that you have to take to get things cleared up and straightened out may be complicated. In addition, you are also dealing with the emotional stress of (in a way) losing a child. This can make navigating through the legal process even harder.
Therefore, it is better to let an experienced attorney handle the matter, so that you can work on taking care of yourself and putting your life back together.
The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only. This is not legal advice, and your viewing of this blog does not form any attorney-client relationship.
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