blnymph
Posts: 1598
Joined: 11/13/2010 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Kaliko FR From what I've found, it was prior to 2008 that a DNA test required consent of all parties. Since then, the acknowledged father can, indeed, require a paternity test without mom or child's consent. German Civil Code, Section 1598a allows for the father to require the mother and child to “consent to a genetic paternity test.” (It also allows mom and child similar rights.) So…seems reasonable. However, even if the test proves that the man is not dad, that doesn’t remove paternity. Paternity is removed in a separate action. Section 1600b states that paternity may be contested within two years. This two year period “commences on the date on which the person entitled learns of the circumstances that argue against the paternity…”’ That, too, seems reasonable. If dad finds out mom had an affair right around conception time, he has a little time to process it and then act on it – if he so chooses. Once it’s determined that a man is not the actual biological father, then he can sue for back payment of two-years’ worth of maintenance from the biological father. However, Germany doesn’t allow for men who have not been acknowledged as the father to be forced to test. This, too, makes sense. If I’m a man living my life, doing my thing, and someone comes along and tells me I have to submit to a test because some woman somewhere says so? Yeah…no. A man is acknowledged to be the father by either making that acknowledgment of paternity himself, by being married to mom at the time of the birth, or through the courts. And so, the courts also serve the man who has been determined to not be the biological father and is suing for back payments. Now, because it’s now against German law to force a man who has not acknowledged paternity through one of the methods above to take a DNA test, how is a man who is suing for these back payments to know who it is he should be collecting from? Enter mom’s sexual history, and the need for it to be revealed in court under this specific circumstance. There are rights of the child, as has been discussed. But those rights don’t seem to be at the expense of the rights of dad or mom. They come into play if a paternity decision is ruled to be severely harmful to the child (or some such wording). This, too, makes sense. But I’d also like to think that the decision based on this determination would not be made lightly. If there wasn’t the provision for men who have been falsely playing the role of dad to collect two years of maintenance from the actual biological father, then I would see no reason to force women to list their sexual partners in court. But seeing as that does exist (so the article says), and there’s no way to get a DNA test from someone who has not acknowledged paternity without a court order, naming the name in court seems to be the only way. The bad: It seems that if someone other than the true biological father acknowledged paternity, then the true father is helpless to do anything about it. Only those in the family unit (mom, dad (acknowledged), or child) can generate discovery into paternity. (Though again, I guess this is in line to not being allowed to randomly require men to take a test to determine paternity. I wonder if/hope there is recourse for this situation.) German Civil Code Anxious Fathers Welcome New Paternity Test Law ETA Mind you, not being German, I might have gotten something wrong, here. Happy to be corrected. Not correcting, just explaining further. BGB (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, civil code) can be complicated - and conflicting. The time periods in Section 1600b differ for different persons involved; while the father can contest paternity within 2 years after learning about the conflict paternity (Satz 1), the child can for a lifetime. (3 and 6). You are right: father can file his demand of a DNA testing. It will be decided by the family court. 1598a sentences 2-4. The "child's prerogative" for lack of a better name is sentence 3. Parental (if unmarried) obligations to the child are Section 1626 and following. In this kind of conflict especially 1628 to 1632 and 1643. (Legal representation asf) Your "the bad" example fits the situation of desi..'s example of the biological father being the next door neighbour. If the husband legitimizes the child the biological neighbour-father has no means to contest this and has no paternal rights and obligations. I am no lawyer so I simplified some nuances. A cousin of mine after getting told he was a "cuckoo-father" had all these procedures some years ago, and it was no pleasant business for sure - emotionally still is ...
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