Legal Question in Family Law in Kansas
Paternity questions
My ex-wife and I were divorced in KS in 1993. She has a son that I have paid support on all this time even though I am quite sure that I am not his father. I believed that his real father would never help them so I have as long as I could. She has never allowed me any contact with the child. The burden of the support is getting to be too much for me and my family now. Would a DNA test confirming my lack of paternity allow the court to vacate my support order or would the court not want to leave him with no father at all? I believe that any action on this matter would have to take place in the county where the divorce occured.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Paternity questions
Kansas law is very protective of the child in this situation. First, you may be a "presumed" father if the child was born while you were married to the child's mother, if your name appears on the birth certificate or if you have acknowledged the child as your own in writing.
The court would have to make a decision as to whether any paternity test should be done. This process is governed by the procedure set out in the Ross case:
". . . Prior to ordering a blood test to determine whether the presumed parent is the biological parent, the district court must consider the best interests of the child, including physical, mental, and emotional needs. The shifting of paternity from the presumed father to the biological father could easily be detrimental to the emotional and physical well-being of any child. Although someone may suffer, it should never be the child, who is totally innocent and who has no control over or conception of the environment into which he or she has been placed. In re Marriage of Ross, 13 Kan. App. 2d 402, 772 P.2d 288 (1989).
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