Truth and Consequences: Part III. Who Pays When Paternity is Disestablished?


 

Publication Date: April 2003

Publisher: Center for Law and Social Policy

Author(s): Paula Roberts

Research Area: Law and ethics

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

This monograph, the third in a three-part series on paternity disestablishment, addresses the fiscal consequences to the child, the parents, and the state if paternity is disestablished. Courts and state legislatures are dealing with the effect of disestablishment on past, present, and future child support obligations. Some are also addressing the circumstances under which a father who has disestablished his paternity may seek to recoup support he has provided to the child. A few states are also providing criminal penalties for those who intentionally establish the paternity of the wrong man. (Case law updated in August 2003.)