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  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2010
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    Default How Can We Establish Paternity when Birth Mom is Unwilling

    My question involves paternity law for the State of: OHIO

    Nine years ago my fiancee had a brief relationship with a woman, who was also sleeping with another man at the same time. She became pregnant, told my fiancee it wasn't his child, told the 2nd man it was the 2nd man's child. Now, she's sniffing around after hearing we're getting married. She is currently living with and engaged to the 2nd man with the child. If this child is my fiancee's child, we do not wish that the child remain seperate from our life. We have a few questions:

    1: Can we be proactive and request paternity even if she's unwilling?
    2: How do we do that?
    3: Can we file for custody? She and her BF have criminal records, have lost three children to the State already, both been in jail for committing theft and internet fraud and are both addicts. Do we have legal grounds in obtaining custody if my fiancee is proven the father?

    4: Can she pursue back pay for child support if it is found fiancee is the father even after she lied about his being the father?
    5: Will my fiancee be seen unfavorably by the court for believing this female when she swore the child was not his?
    6: How can we protect ourselves from physical harm and backlash if we request this? These people have a serious reputation in our community for causes damage/harm to those they dislike.

    Thank you for any/all help and guidance.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
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    38,867

    Default Re: How Can We Establish Paternity when Birth Mom is Unwilling

    You can file with the courts to establish paternity.

    1: Can we be proactive and request paternity even if she's unwilling?
    yes

    2: How do we do that?
    file a suit to establish paternity in the Ohio courts. Not sure which court it is in Ohio but I would start with anything called a "Family Court" and if none, possibly the Probate Courts.

    3: Can we file for custody?
    I should have said the before; WE can't do anything. Anything that is done is by the possible father. so no, you cannot sue for custody and you (personally) are and always will be a legal stranger to the child so you will have no rights in this regardless the outcome. IF your BF is determined to be the father, yes, he could attempt to gain custody (considering he was waited 9 years to take action, it won't look good for him).

    4: Can she pursue back pay for child support if it is found fiancee is the father even after she lied about his being the father?
    I do not have that answer

    5: Will my fiancee be seen unfavorably by the court for believing this female when she swore the child was not his?
    well, you have given no reason to believe the possibility of your BF being the father is based on any current situation so yes, him simply waiting 9 years to attempt to determine paternity may very well be looked at with suspicion.

    6: How can we protect ourselves from physical harm and backlash if we request this?
    Lock your doors maybe?


    After all that, the question is:

    WHY? why now? He has had 9 years to demand a test. He refused. Jumping into the child's life now will not be easy and could be traumatic to the child and cause all sorts of problems.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    Somewhere near Canada
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    35,894

    Default Re: How Can We Establish Paternity when Birth Mom is Unwilling

    Quote Quoting lilbit78
    View Post
    My question involves paternity law for the State of: OHIO

    Nine years ago my fiancee had a brief relationship with a woman, who was also sleeping with another man at the same time. She became pregnant, told my fiancee it wasn't his child, told the 2nd man it was the 2nd man's child. Now, she's sniffing around after hearing we're getting married. She is currently living with and engaged to the 2nd man with the child. If this child is my fiancee's child, we do not wish that the child remain seperate from our life. We have a few questions:

    1: Can we be proactive and request paternity even if she's unwilling?

    Everything after this point depends upon one question:

    Is there already a legally established father?


    If yes - stop here. It's a done deal.

    If no, continue.


    2: How do we do that?
    3: Can we file for custody? She and her BF have criminal records, have lost three children to the State already, both been in jail for committing theft and internet fraud and are both addicts. Do we have legal grounds in obtaining custody if my fiancee is proven the father?

    If the State hasn't seen fit to terminate parental rights or take the child in question into custody, your boyfriend has little chance.

    And as was stated, there ain't a "we" here.

    4: Can she pursue back pay for child support if it is found fiancee is the father even after she lied about his being the father?
    Highly unlikely. CS, should your fiancee turn up to be Dad, would be retroactive only to the date of filing. I'm assuming that Mommy didn't file 9 years ago....


    5: Will my fiancee be seen unfavorably by the court for believing this female when she swore the child was not his?

    Not touching this one.


    6: How can we protect ourselves from physical harm and backlash if we request this? These people have a serious reputation in our community for causes damage/harm to those they dislike.

    Thank you for any/all help and guidance.

    "These people"?

    Really?

    If your fiancee is wanting to suddenly become Daddy, he better get rid of that phrase from his - and yours especially - vernacular. This is MOM. And should he actually become Dad, he's going to be co-parenting with Mom for a long, long time.

    So. He was seriously completely oblivious to the possibility of there being a pregnancy and resulting child?

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Posts
    2

    Default Re: How Can We Establish Paternity when Birth Mom is Unwilling

    Please refrain from beating me up over "vernacular" after what was a very long and stressful, not to mention emotional day. I came asking for helpful input, not another kick in the teeth from a stranger.

    And yes, he was "completely oblivious". She told him she was unable to have children. Not all men do damage to some poor, helpless female and then leave her to fend for herself in a delicate condition. This female was using him. She is a dancer, as she was then, and saw a silly, young man and claimed she fell in love, all the while giving whatever money he gave her for food, clothing, rent, etc... to her drug dealer BF. While my fiancee thought he was helping the woman he loved gain control of her own drug habit and life, she was ripping him off. Women can be predatory with an agenda. When he caught her cheating, he told her he couldn't be with her if she had other men and she vanished. We did not become aware until we saw the child and the physical attributes are undeniable, warranting a few questions. We very much want to know what the truth is and had he known years earlier, my fiancee would have addressed the issue then. We (and it is very much WE as I am to be his wife and the child's step mother in the very near future) are just making sure that we understand what we're getting in to.

    "These people" was used rather than me blast their family name in public, and yes, I consider drug dealers/users and women that remove their clothing for money "these people". I shouldn't be scolded for valuing morality. This certainly wouldn't effect our feelings for the child in question. I would never dream of saying one ill word to a little one regarding their parent. This family does have a foul reputation in the community as the adults have long arrest records for multiple misdemeaners and felonies and have been known to deface cars, homes and store fronts belonging to the people that cross them. I am not being harsh by acknowledging that this family is dangerous. My fiancee and I were not raised to act out like this family does, nor did we spend time with those that do. I have never been exposed to people that behave this way, so of course I'm going to ask questions in efforts to educate myself on my rights to protect the house I own that we will be sharing after we wed, as well as that of my very elderly parents and small child of my own.

    We merely want to help and become a part of this child's life if the child does in fact belong to my fiancee. We have a very stable life with the ability to provide experiences and comforts the child may otherwise miss out on. There is also a set of grandparents that would very much like to know their grandchild and offer their love. My fiancee is not the bad guy. Was he to chase her down all over creation, stalking her in case there might have been something she was dishonest about? I think not as that would not only be creepy, but highly unacceptable.

    A little kindness doesn't hurt when people come searching for help. It sure beats a superior and condescending attitude. Thank you for your time. From here on out, I'll simply employ my own attorney so at least my questions can be answered without someone trying to make my fiancee and I look like we're the unethical ones out to harm this poor woman.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
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    Default Re: How Can We Establish Paternity when Birth Mom is Unwilling

    A lot here depends upon whether a presumption of paternity ever arose and, if so, whether it arose prior to March 22, 2001. I don't suppose you know if either is the case....
    Quote Quoting Ohio Revised Code, Sec. 3111.03 Presumption of paternity.
    (A) A man is presumed to be the natural father of a child under any of the following circumstances:
    (1) The man and the child’s mother are or have been married to each other, and the child is born during the marriage or is born within three hundred days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, divorce, or dissolution or after the man and the child’s mother separate pursuant to a separation agreement.

    (2) The man and the child’s mother attempted, before the child’s birth, to marry each other by a marriage that was solemnized in apparent compliance with the law of the state in which the marriage took place, the marriage is or could be declared invalid, and either of the following applies:
    (a) The marriage can only be declared invalid by a court and the child is born during the marriage or within three hundred days after the termination of the marriage by death, annulment, divorce, or dissolution;

    (b) The attempted marriage is invalid without a court order and the child is born within three hundred days after the termination of cohabitation.
    (3) An acknowledgment of paternity has been filed pursuant to section 3111.23 or former section 5101.314 of the Revised Code and has not become final under former section 3111.211 or 5101.314 or section 2151.232, 3111.25, or 3111.821 of the Revised Code.
    (B) A presumption that arises under this section can only be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that includes the results of genetic testing, except that a presumption that is conclusive as provided in division (A) of section 3111.95 or division (B) of section 3111.97 of the Revised Code cannot be rebutted. An acknowledgment of paternity that becomes final under section 2151.232, 3111.25, or 3111.821 of the Revised Code is not a presumption and shall be considered a final and enforceable determination of paternity unless the acknowledgment is rescinded under section 3111.28 or 3119.962 of the Revised Code. If two or more conflicting presumptions arise under this section, the court shall determine, based upon logic and policy considerations, which presumption controls.

    (C)
    (1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, a presumption of paternity that arose pursuant to this section prior to March 22, 2001, shall remain valid on and after that date unless rebutted pursuant to division (B) of this section. This division does not apply to a determination described in division (B)(3) of this section as division (B)(3) of this section existed prior to March 22, 2001.

    (2) A presumption of paternity that arose prior to March 22, 2001, based on an acknowledgment of paternity that became final under former section 3111.211 or 5101.314 or section 2151.232 of the Revised Code is not a presumption and shall be considered a final and enforceable determination of paternity unless the acknowledgment is rescinded under section 3111.28 or 3119.962 of the Revised Code.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    Default Re: How Can We Establish Paternity when Birth Mom is Unwilling

    Ohio legal grounds and court practice

    According to Ohio legislation,


    3111.01 Parent and child relationship defined.

    (A) As used in sections 3111.01 to 3111.85 of the Revised Code, “parent and child relationship” means the legal relationship that exists between a child and the child’s natural or adoptive parents and upon which those sections and any other provision of the Revised Code confer or impose rights, privileges, duties, and obligations. The “parent and child relationship” includes the mother and child relationship and the father and child relationship.

    3111.03 Presumption of paternity.
    (A) A man is presumed to be the natural father of a child under any of the following circumstances:
    1) The man and the child’s mother are or have been married to each other, and the child is born during the marriage or is born within three hundred days after the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, divorce, or dissolution or after the man and the child’s mother separate pursuant to a separation agreement.
    (3) An acknowledgment of paternity has been filed pursuant to section 3111.23 or former section 5101.314 of the Revised Code and has not become final under former section 3111.211 or 5101.314 or section 2151.232, 3111.25, or 3111.821 of the Revised Code.
    (B) A presumption that arises under this section can only be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that includes the results of genetic testing, except that a presumption that is conclusive as provided in division (A) of section 3111.95 or division (B) of section 3111.97 of the Revised Code cannot be rebutted. An acknowledgment of paternity that becomes final under section 2151.232, 3111.25, or 3111.821 of the Revised Code is not a presumption and shall be considered a final and enforceable determination of paternity unless the acknowledgment is rescinded under section 3111.28 or 3119.962 of the Revised Code. If two or more conflicting presumptions arise under this section, the court shall determine, based upon logic and policy considerations, which presumption controls.
    3111.04 Standing to bring paternity action.
    A) An action to determine the existence or nonexistence of the father and child relationship may be brought by the child or the child’s personal representative, the child’s mother or her personal representative, a man alleged or alleging himself to be the child’s father, the child support enforcement agency…

    3111.05 Statute of limitations.

    An action to determine the existence or nonexistence of the father and child relationship may not be brought not later than five years after the child reaches the age of eighteen. Neither section 3111.04 of the Revised Code nor this section extends the time within which a right of inheritance or a right to a succession may be asserted beyond the time provided by Chapter 2105., 2107., 2113., 2117., or 2123. of the Revised Code.
    An acknowledgment of paternity is final and enforceable without ratification by a court when the acknowledgment has been filed with the office of child support, the information on the acknowledgment has been entered in the birth registry, and the acknowledgment has not been rescinded and is not subject to possible recission pursuant to section 3111.27 of the Revised Code.


    The most important Ohio cases:
    Merkel v. Doe, 635 N.E.2d 70 (Ohio Ct. C. Pl. 1993)
    Patrick T. v. Michelle L., Ohio Ct. App. 2000
    Lorence v. Goeller, 2002-Ohio-948

    Lorence v. Goeller, 2005-Ohio-2678/The Court of Appeals of Ohio affirmed the trial court’s decision that custody may not be awarded to a non-parent, a man led to believe he was the biological father, without first making a finding of parental unsuitability of the true birth father/.
    Goeller v. Lorence, 2006-Ohio-5807/A former,disestablished legal father who resided with a child for the first eleven years of child’s life may not seek custody, he may seek visitation only/




    Ohio's Statute of Limitations on Back Child Support Payments (Arrears)

    Ohio has no statute of limitations on enforcement of a child support order. If any back support payments (arrears) are owed, the court retains jurisdiction to take child support enforcement action until the arrears are paid in full.


    Conclusion-the parent-child relationship is determined by blood ties only..

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