Affidavit of paternity by father of child florida

Because a disestablishment of paternity case has the potential to affect the mother and child as well, Florida law requires that the legal father give notice – that is, send a copy of the petition- to the mother as well as the Department of Revenue.

As part of the initial filing, the legal father must also include:

• An affidavit, or sworn statement, explaining that “newly discovered evidence” regarding paternity has come to his attention since the time that legal paternity was first established or a child support obligation first issued. The new evidence can be (but does not need to be) genetic testing results, or it can be statements or comments made by the mother or others. The key, though, is that this information must have been discovered after legal paternity was first established or a child support order was first issued. For instance, if Frankie told Fred one month ago that she knows the child’s biological father is Phil, and it has been six months since Fred was first ordered to pay child support, Frankie’s statements would constitute “newly discovered evidence.” But suppose that Frankie told Fred at the time she was pregnant that the child might not be his, and she reiterates this after a child support order is issued against him. In this case, it is unlikely that Frankie’s statements will constitute “newly discovered evidence.”
• The results of scientific tests show that the legal father is probably not the biological father of the child. In other words, genetic testing should be done on the father and child and this testing should show that there is a probability that the legal father is not the biological father. The testing must be “generally accepted in the scientific community” – that is, it should be a standard genetic test that does not use any novel or unique methods for arriving at its results, and it should be performed by a qualified agency or laboratory.
  • But what if the mother of the child does not let the legal father have the child in order for a DNA sample to be taken from the child? In such a case the legal father must complete an additional sworn statement saying that he was not able to obtain a DNA sample from the child. The legal father can also request the court to order genetic testing.

  Winning Your Disestablishment of Paternity Case

  Florida law requires that the court grant the legal father’s petition for the disestablishment of paternity – which terminates a finding that the man is the legal father of the child and is obligated to pay child support – when all of the following facts are found:

  • There is newly discovered evidence relating to paternity. Again, this information must truly be “newly discovered” and cannot be information that was known to the legal father at the time he was declared to be the legal father or at the time the court established a child support award.
  • The legal father complied with the requirement for conducting a scientific test. The court will be looking specifically to whether the genetic test required by the law was either conducted in accordance with the statute or that the legal father properly indicated that he could not have such a test performed because he did not have access to the minor child.
  • Child support obligations are current. This means that the legal father is current on his child support obligation or has substantially complied with the child support obligation. If there is any delinquency, the court will need to find that such delinquency occurred due to “just cause.” For instance, being temporarily laid off or experiencing a serious medical crisis might be found to be “just cause” for falling behind on a child support obligation.
  • The legal father has not adopted the child. The legal father cannot adopt the child and then claim that he is not the child’s legal father and is not responsible for supporting the child.
  • The child cannot have been conceived by artificial insemination while the legal father and mother were married. Notice that this is slightly – but significantly – different from other statutes regarding paternity. The general rule is that a man becomes the legal father of a child if he and the mother are married at the time the child is born. But in case of artificial insemination, the man remains the legal father of the child if the man and the mother are married at the time of conception.
  • The legal father did not prevent the biological father from asserting his rights. If the legal father knew who the biological father was and prevented him from exercising any parental rights (such as preventing him from seeing his child, or from establishing a parental relationship with his child), then the court can deny a petition for disestablishment of paternity.
  • The child was under 18 years old when the petition for disestablishment of paternity was filed.

  Denying a Petition for Disestablishment

  Even if the legal father properly filed a petition for disestablishment and followed all the necessary steps, the petition can be denied if the legal father:

  • Married the mother of the child and represented to others that he was the father of the child;
  • Made a sworn statement indicating he was the biological father;
  • Allowed himself to be named as the biological father on the child’s birth certificate;
  • Signed a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity; or
  • Ignored or disregarded a notice from the court or a state agency asking him to submit to a genetic test.

  Conclusion on Florida Disestablishment of Paternity Cases

  If a petition for disestablishment is successful, the court’s order operates prospectively only. In other words, any child support payments already paid prior to the court’s order granting the petition for disestablishment will not be refunded or returned. The child support order will only be canceled going forward. In addition, any rights or responsibilities the man had by virtue of being the legal father of the child will be terminated.

  If you have been declared to be the legal father of a child or have been ordered to pay child support for a child that you have now learned is not your biological offspring, it may be encouraging to learn that there is an avenue available that would put a stop to child support payments and take away your designation as the child’s legal father. This does not mean that obtaining the result you desire is easy. An experienced family law attorney can ensure that you have completed all the necessary steps to have the court consider your petition and evaluate whether any behavior on your part may jeopardize your chance for success.

  If you are the mother of a child and the legal father has filed a petition for disestablishment, we can help advise you of the legal ramifications should the petition be granted. Similarly, we help men wrongfully determined to be a father fight for their rights.

  

  The disestablishment of paternity is a procedure in Florida that allows legal fathers to challenge their designation as fathers and remove child support obligations. It’s important to distinguish between a biological and legal father, as the latter has the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent. A man can be considered the legal father through marriage, court order, consent, or by signing onto the birth certificate. The legal father must file a petition to the circuit court to begin the disestablishment process, which includes sending a copy of the petition to the mother and the Florida Department of Revenue.