Not every paternity test proves biological fatherhood
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Not every paternity test proves biological fatherhood

On Behalf of | Aug 21, 2020 | Child Custody |

Sometimes, a Kentucky man will just have a feeling one way or the other regarding whether he is the biological father of a child. If he has any doubts or the mother gives him reason to doubt, it would be in his best interests to have a paternity test done in order to be sure. The data shows that up to 30% of these tests come back negative, which means the man is not the biological father of the child in question.

Even if the results do come back negative, dealing with the aftermath may not be for the man to move on with his life. If he was previously listed as the father of the child — for instance, if the parties were married at the time of the birth — a Kentucky court may still require him to pay child support depending on the circumstances. Of course, that is not the only consideration.

If a man has been a parent to the child and has built a relationship and attachments to him or her, knowing that he is not the biological father does not necessarily change anything. It is not only the emotional attachments of the father, but also those of the child that need to be taken into consideration. These types of bonds often transcend biology, and the decisions that a man may have to make are not easy ones.

A man who discovers he is not the biological father of a child he thought was his faces a number of challenges. While only he can deal with the emotional and familial decisions, he does not have to deal with the legal ones alone. If he receives a negative paternity test for a child of whom he is currently the legal father, it would greatly benefit him to discuss this situation with an experienced family law attorney.

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