A Birth Certificate was signed, the party is NOT the biological father. Garnishments are being taken by the Child Support Enforcement Agency. How can the party fight and win the case? Is a Constitutional Lawyer or a Paternity Lawyer needed to represent this case in the State of New York? is there a case law pertaining to the above mentioned scenario in the state of New York? if so, what is the case law?
It's unclear from your posting which party you are. Assuming you're the father, you can't fight paternity within the enforcement case. You would've needed to have filed a petition to vacate the acknowledgement of paternity at (or before) the time of the initial child support case. It may very well be too late at this juncture. What other defenses you'd have will take a full assessment of your situation. Thus, call a NYC Child Support attorney to schedule a consult.
The father's name appearing on the birth certificate means that individual is the father unless / until a court determines otherwise. If paternity is going to be challenged, that is a very tricky and tough road. It will require a court application to challenge paternity. As an individual has held himself out to be the father, a DNA test proving he is not the father is not enough. The Court will look to see whether the Father can be "estopped" (prevented) from taking the position he is no longer the father. There are a lot of factors that go into that determination (and into avoiding that determination) and you haven't provided any facts that would aid me in providing you information on that topic. I can say that the court will look at how long this individual has held himself out to be the father so do not delay in moving forward with this action. You need to seek the representation of a very experienced family law attorney.
Jason Bay ZeiglerCriminal Defense AttorneySyracuse, NY ·
Getting out of paying child support after you held yourself out to be the father will be difficult to achieve, even if you didn't know that you were not the child's biological father. You should be represented by counsel if you are going to try to change the current situation.
You would need a child support attorney. This is not a constitutional law issue.
If you were married to the mother, paternity is automatically presumed based upon the marriage. If you were not married to the mother at the time of birth and you signed the paperwork for a birth certificate and acknowledgment of paternity, as of that time, you were deemed the father of the child. The issue is your relationship with the child, not whether you are the biological parent since even if you are not the biological parent, you can be compelled to pay child support for a child. As a general rule, if you have a relationship with this child where the child knows you as a father, you will be prevented from challenging paternity. This is an extremely complicated area of law where it would be virtually impossible for you to represent yourself. You need to retain the services of an experienced child support attorney to advise you concerning the issue you have presented.
