Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Child Support

In an administrative child support proceeding, paternity is not disputed. This means if a father who is requested to participate in this type of proceeding alleges he is not the biological father of the child, this issue will not be considered by the administrative judge. This was an issue in the case Love v. DOR, 3D24-341 (Fla. 3d DCA September 18, 2024).

This appellate opinion does not give any background facts. But it appears the father in an administrative child support case appealed, seemingly on the basis that he alleged he is not the biological father of the child in the case. The appellate court affirmed the child support order, citing the following:

Affirmed. See § 409.2563(2)(e), Fla. Stat. (2024) (“This section does 2 not grant jurisdiction to the department or the Division of Administrative Hearings to hear or determine issues of . . . disputed paternity . . . .”); Fernandez v. Dep’t of Revenue, Child Support, 971 So. 2d 875, 878 (Fla. 3d DCA 2007) (“When paternity has already been established by affidavit, a birth certificate, or a prior judicial proceeding, the father is not a ‘putative father’ and DOR, the mother, or the child do not bear the burden of proving paternity. A father’s response, ‘need DNA test,’ to a DOR administrative proceeding for child support does not by itself terminate the proceeding or require DOR to commence a circuit court action to establish paternity. Rather, the burden is then on the respondent to commence his own action in the circuit court to prove that what was previously admitted, his fatherhood, is in fact a falsehood.”) (citations omitted); McGee v. McGee, 264 So. 3d 1087, 1089 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019) (“[W]ithout a transcript of the hearing we cannot presume that the trial court’s determination of the former husband’s share of the child’s need for support was unsupported by sufficient evidence presented at trial.”).

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