Terminating A Child Support Order Based On Paternity Fraud

Baltimore Maryland divorce lawyerQuestion:

I took a paternity test, though it was not court-ordered, that proves I am not the father of a child for whom I am paying child support.

The mother signed my name on the birth certificate several years ago without my knowledge.

How do I terminate this fraudulent child support and sue the child’s mother for paternity fraud?

Answer:

I am unable to give you legal advice on divorce. I can give general divorce help for men, though, my knowledge is based on Maryland child support and paternity laws where I am licensed to practice.

In most jurisdictions, parentage of a minor child must first be established before any child support obligation can be ordered and enforced.

For unmarried individuals, parentage of a child may be established by many different methods. For example, parentage may be established if the court makes a judicial determination that the individual is determined to be the father or if an individual has acknowledged himself in writing to be the child’s father.

Parentage may also be established if the individual has openly recognized the child to his child.

If an order for child support is currently in place, the alleged father may seek to terminate his child support obligation by filing a motion with the court requesting termination of child support on the grounds that he is not the actual father of the child.

Termination of child support may be sought if consent or acknowledgement of paternity was provided based on fraud or false representations by the child’s mother. This can include a situation where the child’s mother falsely signs an individual’s name on the birth certificate indicating that this individual is the child’s father.

An individual may also seek to terminate his child support obligation by obtaining a paternity test which supports he is not the father of the child and introducing the test results in court.

Many jurisdictions require that paternity test results establish a minimum probability of parentage; if the results do not meet the appropriate standard, the results will be inadmissible.

An individual who challenges paternity of the child may also be able to introduce other evidence in a parentage proceeding such as testimony regarding the child’s resemblance to the alleged father and testimony that the mother had sexual relations with other men at or about the time of conception.

If the court finds that the alleged father is not the child’s father, then the child support obligation should be terminated.

If the child’s mother fraudulently established parentage of the minor child, the alleged father may have actions of recourse against the mother.

For example, the alleged father may file a claim for fraud, which generally requires that:

1) the child’s mother made a false representation to the alleged father;

2) the mother knew that the representation made was false or the representation was made with reckless indifference to its truth;

3) the misrepresentation was made with the purpose of defrauding the alleged father;

4) the alleged father relied on the misrepresentation; and

5) the alleged father suffered compensable injury resulting from the misrepresentation.

Remember, I am unable to provide you with anything more than divorce tips for men, so please consult with a divorce lawyer in your jurisdiction.

Cordell & Cordell has men’s divorce lawyers located nationwide. To schedule an appointment with a divorce attorney, including Maryland Divorce Lawyer Jeff J. Kim, please contact Cordell & Cordell.

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One comment on “Terminating A Child Support Order Based On Paternity Fraud

    Hello I am a father of four according to court about 13 years ago I was injured and jobless and my girlfriend at the time wile living with me filed for support and interestingly the woman handling our case just so happened to be case worker she then went on to add highest wage I ever made which was 17 dollars an hour now keep in mind I was unemployed at time I was absolutely railroaded on top of it all in Ohio if you signed birth certificate the kid is yours I believe that only two of my four children our mine so I have refused to pay four felony five charges just came down I’m looking for a lawyer who will fight this based on what I just described Nd also that it is unconstitutional as it is modern day debtors peison

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