HOW TO DISESTABLISH PATERNITY IN FLORIDA
Terminating your child support obligation can seem like a lengthy battle with time spend wading through paperwork or taking a number at the Courthouse. If you are a male and have come to learn through newly discovered evidence that you are not the biological father of the child you are ordered to pay child support for, you can petition the court to terminate your child support obligation. The Florida Statutes states a list of factors that are necessary to remove the non-biological father from his child support obligation to disestablish paternity.
TERMINATION OF JACKSONVILLE CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION
To have your child support obligation terminated in Jacksonville, you must prove the following:
- Newly discovered evidence relating to paternity has come to the petitioner’s knowledge since the initial paternity action that he is not the biological father of the child he pays child support for;
- A recent DNA test, performed within 90 days of the petition, show that the petitioner is not the biological father of the child;
- That the petitioner is current on all child support payments or is in substantial compliance with his child support obligation;
- The petitioner has not adopted the child;
- The child was not conceived by artificial insemination while married to the child’s mother;
- The petitioner has not interfered with the rights of the child’s true biological father; and
- The child was less than 18 years of age when the petition is filed with the court.
Here is the link to the State of Florida Family Law Site regarding disestablishment of paternity if you’d like to read the full text: 742.18 Florida Statutes
For additional information on the disestablishment of paternity or termination of child support or any other related family law matter please call the Jacksonville Divorce Law Office of James T. Keenan for courteous and professional advice. Our initial consultation is free and we strive to serve our community with over 22 years of family law experience.