Legal Question in Family Law in New York
I am in NY state, My ex fianc� and I both signed the Voluntary Acknowledgment of Parentage form in july 2011. we have lived together and he has developed a relationship with our daughter. I don't know if this matters but he has a felony criminal and rehab record.
His mother and grandmother do not like me for no good reason. They are threatening my ex saying they will not help him financially if he does not get a paternity test. I do not feel that a paternity test needs to be done. It its none of their business. Besides the fact that he already signed the VAP.knowingly and consensually. He does not deny her as his child but his family its the ones threatening him about it filing his head with lies.
He told me his grandmother who is NOT a lawyer wants to "represent" him or already be in the court room. I know it id open to the public but he is 28 years old, I am 24 years old. Im sure wert can handle this situation involving our child like adults. Will his grandmother be allowed to speak and have a voice in anything? I was told by another lawyer that it is highly unlikley that a paternity test will be granted because the VAP was signed and it is past the 60 days and he can not prove any fraud, duress, or mistake of fact.
He said to me that his grandmother "knows ways to get around things".
Is this going to be allowed in my child support case? They just do not want him to pay for his child. Its none of their business. Please tell me what I can do about this and if she will be allowed to speak if she shows up to court. Thank you.
1 Answer from Attorneys
They have no legal obligation to help him support your child whether he takes the paternity test or not. I think you would be unwise to entertain their demand for such a test. I do not necessarily agree that because he signed the VAP he cannot undo his acknowledgment simply because he cannot prove fraud, duress or mistake of fact. What is true is that the longer he remains acknowledged as your child's father, the harder it will be for him to repudiate paternity under the doctrine of estoppel. If your child is 5, 6 or 7 years old, for example, and has always known your ex fianc� as his father, you could oppose any legal attempts for dad to repudiate paternity via a DNA test under the estoppel doctrine. Your position is strengthened legally the older the child is and the longer the child has known and believed your ex fianc� to be his dad. The bottom line is you should try to delay any case being started in Family Court for as long as you can. If it ever gets that far, you will have two lines of defense: (1) his execution of the VAP, and (2) the doctrine of estoppel.
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