Those who have children out of wedlock often presume that they have a right to parent their children without the court’s say so. If the relationship between the parents ends up on the rocks, however, a father may find his parental rights in jeopardy. That happened in the case of N.D. v. J.B.
Background of the case
In this case, the father of the child appealed the trial court’s order dismissing his petition to establish paternity. According to the litigants, N.D. and J.B. were in a relationship for several years but never married. A child was born of this relationship (R.R.D.) N.D. was named the father on the child’s birth certificate. The father continued to be a part of the child’s life until his relationship with the child’s mother went sour and the mother unilaterally discontinued visitation in 2020.
The father then filed a petition to establish paternity, a parenting plan, and a timesharing schedule. In response, the mother requested a DNA test and the appointment of a guardian ad litem to determine whether DNA testing was in the best interests of the child. Based on the guardian ad litem’s opinion, the trial court ordered the testing. The results showed that there was no chance that N.D. was R.R.D.’s biological father. The mother moved to dismiss N.D.’s paternity action pursuant to Section 742.12(4) of the Florida Statutes which states that “if test results show that the alleged father cannot be the biological father, the case shall be dismissed with prejudice.” While the trial court voiced its reluctance to dismiss the petition, it ruled that it had no choice but to do so. The father’s petition was dismissed.
N.D. filed an appeal arguing that the trial court’s dismissal of his claim was improper. In this case, the father signed an affidavit acknowledging paternity with the mother and his name was on the child’s birth certificate as the legal father. The appeals court found in favor of N.D. stating that he correctly contended that even though the DNA test results revealed he was not the child’s biological father, he is entitled to the presumption that he is the legal father because he was named as the child’s father on the birth certificate. In other words, the trial court erred in dismissing N.D.’s complaint “based solely on biology”.
Commentary
It’s important to understand that if you are named as the biological father on a birth certificate, you have parental rights over the child. There is only a 60-day window to contest paternity if more information becomes available. But the presence of the birth certificate in this case was enough to get the father’s case reinstated and remanded to the circuit court for judgment.
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