Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Paternity

For a male wishing to disestablish his paternity in Florida, time is of the essence. The law places the burden on a man who knows he is not the father of a child to take certain steps to preserve his argument that he should not be legally responsible for the child. The case DOR v. Augustin, 237 So.3d 1123 (Fla. 3d DCA 2018) shows us what steps must be followed in order to disestablish paternity in Florida.

In this case, the purported father’s paternity was established in 2013 by court order. In 2015, the purported father filed a petition to disestablish paternity, alleging that a 2009 DNA test was newly discovered evidence which indicated he could not be the biological father of the child. A copy of the results was not attached to the petition, and the trial court never received into evidence any paternity results. Despite this, the trial court entered an order granting the petition and disestablishing paternity.

Because the trial court failed to comply with the Florida Statutes concerning disestablishment of paternity, the order was reversed on appeal. According to the Florida Statutes, paternity disestablishment requires the following:

(a) An affidavit executed by the petitioner that newly discovered evidence relating to the paternity of the child has come to the petitioner’s knowledge since the initial paternity determination or establishment of a child support obligation.

(b) The results of scientific tests that are generally acceptable within the scientific community to show a probability of paternity, administered within 90 days prior to the filing of such petition, which results indicate that the male ordered to pay such child support cannot be the father of the child for whom support is required, or an affidavit executed by the petitioner stating that he did not have access to the child to have scientific testing performed prior to the filing of the petition. A male who suspects he is not the father but does not have access to the child to have scientific testing performed may file a petition requesting the court to order the child to be tested.

(c) An affidavit executed by the petitioner stating that the petitioner is current on all child support payments for the child for whom relief is sought or that he has substantially complied with his child support obligation for the applicable child and that any delinquency in his child support obligation for that child arose from his inability for just cause to pay the delinquent child support when the delinquent child support became due.

(2) The court shall grant relief on a petition filed in accordance with subsection (1) upon a finding by the court of all of the following: (a) Newly discovered evidence relating to the paternity of the child has come to the petitioner’s knowledge since the initial paternity determination or establishment of a child support obligation. (b) The scientific test required in paragraph (1)(b) was properly conducted. (c) The male ordered to pay child support is current on all child support payments for the applicable child or that the male ordered to pay child support has substantially complied with his child support obligation for the applicable child and that any delinquency in his child support obligation for that child arose from his inability for just cause to pay the delinquent child support when the delinquent child support became due. (d) The male ordered to pay child support has not adopted the child. (e) The child was not conceived by artificial insemination while the male ordered to pay child support and the child’s mother were in wedlock. (f) The male ordered to pay child support did not act to prevent the biological father of the child from asserting his paternal rights with respect to the child. (g) The child was younger than 18 years of age when the petition was filed.

See Fla. Stat. 742.18.

Since the trial court did not comply with the requirement to make these findings and the petitioner did not file a legally sufficient petition, his paternity could not be disestablished. When you believe you may not be the father of a child or you receive evidence that you are not the father, consult with a Florida paternity lawyer right away since the sooner you act, the better your chances of obtaining the relief you seek.