Presumed Fathers Act: Should a Man Pay Child Support Even If He is Not the Biological Father?

Manda Spring, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Sep 5, 2007 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Yes, you read that title right. The Presumed Fathers Act. It may sound ludicrous to you but it is very real and the problems that it is causing are on the rise. Before I get into those that have been directly affected by this law let me take the time first to explain this law and how it can literally affect every man.

An 'acknowledged father' is the biological father of a child born and whom paternity has been established. This can be done by either admission or agreement between the parents. Obviously, an acknowledged father must pay child support if they do not have custody.

Now for the 'presumed father'. If any of the following situations occur then a man is presumed to be the father of a child in the eyes of the court.

One, the man was married to the mother when the child was conceived or born.

Two, a man attempted to marry the mother, whether the marriage was legal or not does not matter, if the child was conceived or born during this time he is the presumed father.

Three, the man married the mother after the conception or birth and has his name on the birth certificate.

Or four, a man had welcomed a child into his relationship and home and chose to call the child his own.

Now the fact is this, any father acknowledged or presumed can not be disproved in a court of law and is considered 'conclusive'. Even in the case of negative blood tests and proven paternity for another man.

A man can be "conclusively presumed" to be the father of any child if he is both married to and living with the mother. The only qualification is that he is not sterile or impotent. So, this means that if a wife cheats on her husband and a baby is born during the time of the marriage the husband is legally the father.

Here's the kicker, if a blood test proves that you are not the father, whether the real father is made known by proof or not, then the presumed father must still pay child support. Also, if the biological father is made known to the court he will not be obligated to pay child support but the custody and visitation will be shared only between the biological parents involved.

By law, a presumed father must pay child support.

"Under the Child Support Enforcement Act of 1984, it is against the law for any father, presumed or assumed, to not pay court ordered child support to the custodial guardian, regardless of joint custody. Federal laws permit the interception of tax refunds to enforce child support orders, and other methods of enforcement include wage attachments, seizure of property, suspension of a business license, and in California, driver's license revocation. In the event that none of these attempts are entirely successful, the court of law that issued the child support order can hold the father in contempt and, in the absence of a reasonable explanation for the delinquency, impose a jail term." (Trusted Internet Resource quoting the law as it stands)

So, my question to you, do you believe that this is a fair law to be held so high in our courts? Here is the argument after interviewing a friend of mine that has actually had this happen to him.

"I wasn't married but I had been seeing this girl. At the time I owned my business and had really good income. She admitted to me that she was having an affair and we broke up. She moved in with the guy she was cheating on me with and over a year later I received a child support bill for her child. When I contacted her and asked what was up with this action against me she said that she was no longer with the other guy and she knew I could 'afford' to take care of her. She said that she put my name on the birth certificate and the baby was a few months old."

I had to ask if he exhausted all efforts to prove that he was not the father in this case and here's how he answered.

"Yes, in fact the blood test proved I wasn't but by the time all this happened the baby was almost a year old and had my name all that time. The judge said that is something he couldn't change and I was the better choice for the child because I had such a good job and so forth. I was then declared to be the presumed father. I have since removed myself from the situation because the biological that had taken the paternity test and was matched as the dad decided to get visitation and I didn't want to confuse the kid, so needless to say I haven't seen her since she was a baby."

If you are wondering how this has impacted his life, here are the results. He has gone bankrupt and lost his business because of high support he was paying. Because support is based upon your income his was set to a very high but manageable amount... but during a series of slow months he got behind. The mother issued a warrant out and the D.A. took his drivers license. "Well, you can not work if you can't get there. I had to give up my business."

For the other side to this discussion I thought it best to get a few random people to stop and answer a few questions. I find that I get more honest opinions from various individuals than I would from a person that is justifying their own actions.

"I guess it would really depend on the biological father and whether or not he was fit. The law, I am guessing is for the best interest of the children, so if the father is a criminal or something then I could see a mom placing a gentler and more financially set man in the role to take care of the kids." (A mother of 3)

"Well, I guess it depends on the women involved. You gotta get by the best you can right? If the guy has a good job then why not, he can afford it. If I got pregnant I know which ones out of all the guys I have dated that would be good dads and which ones wouldn't. It's all about choice... I think it's actually quite cool that a mother has the right to choose who the father is it allows them to make the right decision. Don't you ever wish you could cover a mistake with a good conclusion? I do, so I could see it in some situations, yeah. " (A 25 year old woman who is not yet a mother)

So, how about you? Where do your choices take you as a woman? How about as a man, should you be worried and will you think twice about sleeping with your girlfriend? Do you think that this is good law or one that should be amended? Obviously this debate raises a lot of questions... doesn't it?

Published by Manda Spring

Manda Spring is a published author of books, screenplays, advertisements, and articles (in print magazines and online). View profile

Did You Know

"Michael H. v. Gerald D.,491 U.S.110(1989),the U.S. Supreme Court upheld California's presumed father statute as a rational method of protecting the integrity of the family against challenges based on the due process rights of the father and the child."

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Presumed Fathers Act: Should a Man Pay Child Support Even If He is Not the Biological Father?

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