LJWorld Reader blogs

Q. A woman temporarily separates from her husband. She stays with a man that she meets at a bar. During her two months stay she becomes pregnant and returns to her husband. For the next nine months, she gives no information on birth date, name, sex, health, even though it is asked of her. She gives birth at the hospital and does not tell the man. When he found out, he called her. She did not answer. She sent him a message saying, ''She is fine. I am fine. I don't want you here.'' What legal rights does he have relating to these events?A. If the courts determine that “the man” is the father of the child, the man would have all the rights – and responsibilities – of being a parent. In other words, he could have custody and parenting time with the child. He would also be obligated to pay child support.Getting to the point where a court determines he is the parent, however, may not be easy. “The man” needs to contact an attorney because he needs good legal advice before instituting a paternity case.There are legal presumptions that generally govern when questions of paternity arise. One of those presumptions is that if someone is married when a child is conceived, the husband is presumed to be the resulting child’s father. There are other factors that contribute to the presumption. For example, was the husband’s name on the birth certificate? If so, there is an added presumption that he is the father.Presumptions can be rebutted. But, before the Court orders any genetic tests to determine who parented the child, the Court must determine if doing such testing is in the child’s best interests. The arguments on this point depend on all the specific circumstances involved. Relying on general concepts about what might be in a child’s best interests is a bad idea. The actual facts of the child’s situation are what the Court will care about. This is a decision left entirely to the judge’s discretion.If testing is done, test results are generally conclusive on the identity of father. But all potential fathers must be notified and tested. That can get tricky as well. When the actual father has been identified, then the next step will be to determine what role father should have in the child’s life. Again, the standard will be what is in the child’s best interests. It is possible, if “The Man” is indeed the parent, that he could end up paying significant sums in child support but getting only occasional parenting time with his child. As before, those decisions will be left to the discretion of the Court if parties can’t agree.I hope this was helpful.David J. Brown, Managing AttorneyThe Law Offices of David J. Brown, LC1040 New Hampshire, Suite 14Lawrence, Kansas 66044 785-842-0777 Because every legal situation is different, no response or comment in this blog can be considered legal advice to any one person, even the person who posed the original question that prompted a discussion because the answers will be generalized to provide basic information for all readers. Anyone with a real or potential legal problem should seek the advice of a practicing attorney who is educated and experienced in the area of law in question. Use of this blog does not create an attorney-client relationship between the reader and The Law Offices of David J. Brown, LC.