Family Law

Paternity Challenges Allowed in Missouri

By Erin Kelley

On Tuesday, Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed into law a bill giving men two years to challenge a paternity ruling with DNA tests.

According to the new law, a man can use paternity testing to prove that he isn’t the biological father, which will excuse him from any unpaid child support he was ordered to pay in the past.

The law, which takes effect on Aug. 28, will also have any criminal convictions for not paying child support removed from the falsely identified father’s record.

Under most state child support laws, a man is presumed to be the father of the child if he is married to the mother. A man can also be named the biological father if he signs an acknowledgment when the child was born or is ordered to by the court. Some courts have declared a man the father of a child because he didn’t respond to the mother’s paternity assertion.

Many courts have falsely identified men as biological fathers, forcing them to pay child support when they are not the father. This law in will give men the opportunity to challenge a paternity ruling.

Missouri is one of more than 30 states to allow paternity challenges in the last ten years.

Source: Kansas City Star

Full post as published by The Divorce Blog on July 08, 2009 (boomark / email).