In the current legislation there is a so-called "presumption of paternity". According to her, the spouse automatically recognizes the child's father if the child is born in marriage, and also before the expiry of the period of 300 days from the date of the divorce. According to various sources, about 30% of children born in a marriage are conceived from extraneous men, so practice of challenging paternity has become more widespread recently.
On the basis of the statement of claim for challenging paternity, a person who is officially recognized has the right to request the removal of his / her data from civil status documents in the following cases:
- if the child was born or conceived in a marriage;
- if the child is born out of wedlock, but at registration the man confirmed the fact of paternity and recognized the child as his.
It is impossible to challenge paternity in the following cases:
- if the spouse has given its official consent (which is usually documented) to the use of artificial reproductive technologies;
- if at the time of the registration of the child the man knew that he was not a biological father, but still consciously confirmed paternity.
How to challenge paternity?
Contestation of paternity is possible only in a judicial procedure if there are good reasons for convincing evidence. Most often, the dispute takes place if the woman actually is in a relationship with another man, being officially married. Then the child who is born from extramarital affairs is automatically recognized as the child of her official husband. Theoretically, this problem can be solved at the time of registration of the newborn, if both "husband" - both official and factual - appear in the RAGS and will write the corresponding statements. But sometimes a "legal" spouse can not be found, so the child writes to him and challenges paternity, again, perhaps only in court.
There are also situations when the spouse can not be the father of the child because of physical ill health or a long trip at the time of conception. Then a genetic examination will come to his aid, with the help of which he can prove the absence of kinship between him and the child. Our legislation does not provide for the consent of the mother of the child to the analysis of the child's DNA, as in some European countries, therefore, before going to court, a man can independently be assured of his suspicions. For the analysis it is sufficient to make a simple sampling of the material in accordance with the requirements of the laboratory, most often a bunch of hair or a little saliva. But it is likely that the court does not recognize the conclusion of a private laboratory as sufficient evidence and will appoint a re-examination. In addition, if the mother of the child refuses
Can mother challenge paternity?
The contest of paternity by the mother of the child is possible if the child is born into a marriage. In this case, she can sue to exclude the record of the husband as the father of the child in the book of acts of civil status. In the event that a man is recognized as a father who is not married to a woman in marriage, on the basis of his own formal consent, it is possible to challenge paternity only if his biological father is ready to recognize his fatherhood. In addition, the man himself can challenge the fact of involvement in the child, proving that at the time of recognition of paternity, he did not know that he was not a biological father.
If the contest of paternity is initiated by the mother of the child, but it does not have disputes with the official father, the process of extracting the record from the book of acts is also possible only by a court decision.