You are raising a child with your significant other or spouse, and out of the blue, another man claims the child as his, or your wife or significant other decides it’s time you learned the truth and tells you that the child you thought was yours belongs to someone else. What do you do? If the other man wants to be involved in the child’s life, it can get a bit sticky.
What You Need to Know
The most significant factor determining the outcome of a situation such as this is what the court determines to be in the child’s best interests. The court doesn’t care about the parents or the purported parent. It will look at several factors, including both men’s contact with the child, the child’s age, how long the non-biological father had a relationship with the child, the finances of both men, and more.
Child Support
The court will always make the biological father pay child support in cases where the mother is looking for child support. If you take a paternity test and it shows that you are not the biological father, the court cannot make you pay for another man’s child if the other man comes forward. However, if the paternity test shows that you are the biological father, you will pay child support.
Custody
Determining custody is more complicated. Knowing the child is not biologically yours, you want custody because you spent many years raising the child, and the child sees you as their father. You have a more substantial chance of retaining custody of the child rather than the biological father since you are the person who raised the child for most of their life.
However, if you were in the child’s life for a year or two, there’s no telling what the court will do – it will determine the child’s best interests. It could be giving you custody or giving the biological father custody.
The court will look at your and the biological father’s arguments to determine what is in the child’s best interest – staying with you or giving the biological father custody. If you want to retain custody of the child, you will need a reasonable family law attorney to help you make valid arguments to show that staying with you is in the child’s best interests.
Since the court requires evidence to show what is in the child’s best interest, you may be required to show proof of income and the time you spend with the child. Whether you take the child to doctor’s appointments, pick him up at school, or do homework with the child every night, all show how invested you are in the child. It also shows the court how attached the child is to you.
Contact Mohajer Law Firm, APC, for a Consultation
Family law is often complex because of how the court looks at the family unit. It’s not always the biological parents that are the best choice. Likewise, the non-biological father might not be what is best for the child. A Greater, Los Angeles County family law attorney will help you protect your interests in cases like this.
Contact Mohajer Law Firm, APC, for a consultation if you are in a paternity situation.