In the eyes of the law, a child born to a married couple, is presumed to be the child of the husband. However, this presumption can be rebutted with evidence that the child may not be the husband’s biological child.
Moreover, if there is any chance that the child may not be a given man’s child, whether or not the man is married to the child’s mother, genetic testing can and should be requested and will likely be ordered by the Court. A potential father’s child support obligation will not commence until the genetic test results come in and the Court has conclusive evidence of the child’s paternity.
Mothers, if a potential father requests such genetic testing solely as a means to delay his child support obligation, do not worry. The child support order will be retroactive to the filing of the initial application for child support. In other words, a potential father’s request for genetic testing will not allow him to escape his responsibility for child support. However, if the genetic tests prove that the potential father is, in fact, not the child’s father, the mother may have to reimburse the alleged father for any costs incurred as a result of the genetic testing.
