Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Paternity

Establishing legal paternity of a child in Florida is not based on DNA testing alone. A child may be raised by a parent who is on the birth certificate, but is not biologically related to the child. Disestablishment and establishment of paternity was an issue in the case Castillo v. Rodriguez, 3D20-681 (Fla. 3d DCA December 22, 2021).

The mother in this case gave birth to a child, and at the time of the child’s birth, the mother’s boyfriend was placed on the birth certificate. The boyfriend filed a petition to determine paternity, and the parties entered a stipulation indicating the boyfriend was the natural father of the child. The court entered an order ratifying the stipulation. Not long thereafter, the mother filed an amended petition requesting relocation, alleging she had recently married her long-term boyfriend (who was not a party to the case) and wished to relocate to Colorado where he was stationed. The court denied the petition, and ultimately, the boyfriend who was adjudicated the natural father of the child entered an agreement with the mother to have primary time-sharing with the child, while the mother had visits with the child in Colorado.

Less than a year later, the mother filed a petition to disestablish paternity, alleging that another male was the biological father of the child in the case. The mother and the other male eventually filed a joint petition to disestablish paternity for the legal father in the case, and to establish paternity for the other male. Before a hearing on the mother’s motion for summary judgment on this petition occurred, the other male withdrew his request to disestablish paternity for the legal father. Therefore all that remained for summary judgment was the mother’s request to disestablish paternity and her request to establish paternity for the biological father. The trial court eventually entered summary judgment in favor of the mother, leading the legal father to appeal.

The appellate court reversed, holding “Importantly, section 742.10(4), Florida Statutes, provides [the mother] with no basis for relief. Specifically, this subsection doesn’t permit relief based on the facts of the case. Instead, subsection (4) provides a mechanism to challenge ‘a signed voluntary acknowledgement of paternity . . . on the basis of fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact’ outside the 60-day window referred to in subsection (1). § 742.10(4), Fla. Stat. Here, we have an adjudication of paternity by a circuit court of competent jurisdiction, not a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity as described in section 742.10(1). The trial court adjudicated [the legal father] as [the child’s] natural father on February 22, 2016. Section 742.10(4), Florida Statutes, contemplates a challenge only in the absence of an adjudicatory proceeding.”

The court further reasoned: “Here, [. . .], the alleged biological father, has evinced an intent not to seek to establish paternity, having voluntarily dismissed his petition. [. . .], the legal father of LC, has not sought to disestablish paternity. Rather, [the legal father] has consistently sought to be [the child’s] father, a fact which was agreed to by [the mother] and ratified by the trial court. Thus, a review of the record in this case confirms the Supreme Court of Florida’s admonition that “it seldom will be in the children’s best interests to wrench them away from their legal fathers and judicially declare that they now must regard strangers as their fathers. The law does not require such cruelty toward children.” Id. This is especially true here, where the legal father has fought to remain so and the purported biological father has done the exact opposite. To come to another result would be, at the very least, unsupported by law.”

If you need help navigating Florida paternity laws, schedule a consultation with a Miami paternity lawyer to understand how the law may apply to your case.