Legal Question in Family Law in California

Unfortunately yes, but you can move to modify the child support order to avoid future payments. If the mother knew it was not your child, I am unsure if you can do anything against her.

I have no idea why Mr. Shers told you that. If you received the child into your home, and held the child out to the public as your child, you are the presumed father under the doctrine of parentage by estoppel. (Fam. Code, sect. 7611 subd. (d).) You should have asked for genetic testing way back when, before you were ordered to pay support. If the court ordered you to pay support, there must have been a preliminary finding. You can't stop a child support order now.

As seems too often the case, Mr. Roach is giving a partially correct answer. He's great at reading the code books but seems never to really read the questions. The key here is that you thought the child was yours, and the key question is why did you think that. If you had reason to suspect the child might not be yours, and did nothing, then Mr. Roach is right. You can't ignore that while you are a family and then raise it to get out of supporting the child later. If, however, you had no reason to doubt the child was yours, particularly if you were intentionally deceived, and then something new comes to light that makes you doubt your parentage and you act on it promptly, you have the chance to persuade the court not to hold you to an obligation to support the child. Also, I note Mr. Roach presumes you have already been ordered to pay support, which of course you don't say at all. If that was the case, however, unless the issue of parentage was raised and decided, Mr. Roach is again wrong that an order for support is binding on the question of parentage.

Mr. McCormick is the one who can't read. I didn't say a support order was binding on the question of paternity. An order on support can't be ordered without a preliminary finding of paternity. This includes situations where a paternity finding was made based on the alleged father having defaulted. If you have received the child into your home, and held yourself out as the child's parent, you are the father for the purpose of paying child support. Period.