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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    2

    Default When Can a Biological Father Compel DNA Testing if the Mother is Married

    My question involves paternity law for the State of: Colorado

    So to avoid writing a novel I'm just going to try and give simple facts about what I'm asking and hopefully you guys can tell me which are important and I can expand on those.

    - My sister is married to an Active Duty military member.
    - They have been separated for years, but haven't gotten a divorce yet.
    - She is 6 months pregnant with a physically abusive and controlling man's baby.
    - There is an extremely small chance it isn't this man's child, but there is 100% chance it is not her current husbands.
    - Her husband has agreed to continue holding off the divorce until the after the baby is born, but most likely won't "help" beyond that.
    - My mother and my sister are afraid of the man, but don't want the baby to not know her father.
    - The man's family has a lot of money and good lawyers. We do not.
    - He has already demanded that she work full time (instead of part time, which is her plan), that the baby alternate spending one week with her and then one week with him (from day 1), and has already demanded how much child support she will be paying him because she makes more money then him.
    - I don't know exactly what my sister wants to do, but I just want to make sure she knows all of her options. (She has stated recently that if she could go back so wouldn't have even told him, but wants a family so much that she had been over looking the dangers of the relationship until recently)


    Like I said, I don't know whats relevant and whats not. Personally I would hope that if he petitions the court for a paternity test, that she would admit that he is abusive and that she is afraid of him, that they wouldn't force her, but I'm not sure that's true or that she would even do that. So yeah, what do you guys see? What are the options if he gets a test and he is the father(95% sure he is)?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Somewhere near Canada
    Posts
    35,894

    Default Re: Looking for Advice - Colorado

    As it stands, her husband is presumed to be the father. But if her boyfriend wants to file for paternity, the State will allow him to do so. Once that has happened he'll have standing to sue for custody, visitation and/or child support.

    As far as custody goes, a true 50/50 timeshare likely won't be ordered unless both parents agree and by the time paternity is straightened out the odds are in her favor that she'll be the custodial parent.

    There's something your sister needs to understand.

    If he wants visitation, he WILL get visitation...and while it might supervised in the short term, outside of any obvious abuse it will eventually become unsupervised, and include weekends and entire weeks during the summer. Her fear of him won't be a factor.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: Looking for Advice - Colorado

    Yeah I apologize. I posted this before I read some of the other posts and really thought it would be hard for him to make her get a DNA test, but it appears that was wrong. And I get it. Just means we need to get over that and focus on visitation and support.

    So now my question is, in your opinion, how much edge is he going to have in what I'm assuming is going to be family court in regards to visitation and support?

    - - - Updated - - -

    Just thought of another question. Does he have any rights to be at the birth? And also, until the court makes her get a paternity test and he gets visitation he has no rights to see the baby, right? I know all courts are different, but even if he files the day the baby is born, whats the timeline like before he would get visitation rights?

  4. #4

    Default Re: Looking for Advice - Colorado

    Quote Quoting ffbsm85
    View Post
    So now my question is, in your opinion, how much edge is he going to have in what I'm assuming is going to be family court in regards to visitation and support?
    Only the edge that IF he's the father, and unless he's got a criminal history that includes convictions for crimes against children, it can be safely assumed that he'll be given standard visitation and support calculated by state formula, which can be found at:

    https://childsupport.state.co.us/sit...lcPayments.jsp


    Just thought of another question. Does he have any rights to be at the birth?
    Zero. None. Zip. Nada.


    And also, until the court makes her get a paternity test and he gets visitation he has no rights to see the baby, right?
    Right. Zero. None. Zip. Nada.


    I know all courts are different, but even if he files the day the baby is born, whats the timeline like before he would get visitation rights?
    If really depends on the caseload of the particular court in question. It varies not only state to state but even county to county. But several months, at least.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    Louisville, KY
    Posts
    1,877

    Default Re: Looking for Advice - Colorado

    It's true that he has no rights until he's proven to be the father, but whatever she does now will set the stage for what happens in the future. It's so much nicer when both parents do their best to get along.

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