There are a number of reasons to have the paternity of one’s child established. However, in Georgia, fathers should be mindful that establishing paternity or acknowledging paternity does not give a father, whose child is born out-of-wedlock, legal rights to that child. The child must be legitimated. Legally establishing paternity through genetic testing should be considered whenever paternity is in question. To find out more about paternity in Georgia, see: http://famdiv.fultoncourt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=57
Paternity/De-legitimization Case Update
The Court of Appeals of Georgia (Second Division), in Williamson v. Williamson, A09A1767, considered a case this year involving former spouses that had a child born while married to each other. A child born during a legal marriage is presumed the legal child of father (husband), unless rebutted. The Court ruled that a presumed father who seeks to set aside a determination of paternity thereby de-legitimizing the child, has a very high hurdle and is required to include several things in his motion.
Case law requires that a trial court consider the best interests of a child in a legal father’s claim for de-legitimation. So additionally, in a mother’s claim to de-legitimize the legal father, the trial court must also consider the best interests of the child. Since the law favors legitimation even when the child’s legal father may not be the biological father, a mother who seeks to de-legitimate a child is not automatically entitled to compel the legal father to submit to genetic testing. To compel genetic testing of the legal father, the mother must first present evidence establishing that de-legitimatizing the child is in the child’s best interests.
