Paternity Establishment: Understanding Paternity
Scenario # 1: Her husband is Not the Biological Father of Her Child
Jasmine was happily married to her husband Sherman for five years..
..until they developed different interests and spent less and less time together.
Jasmine took an art course at a community college and met Bryant, and developed a relationship with him.
Without her husband Sherman's knowledge, Jasmine became pregnant with Bryant's child.
When the baby was born, Jasmine knew that Sherman was not the biological father of the baby.
In this scenario, who do you believe is the child's legal father?
That's correct
The legal father is Sherman.
The law presumes that a child born to a married woman is the legitimate child of the woman's husband. So, in this case, Jasmine's husband Sherman would be the legal father unless a court finds otherwise by clear and convincing evidence. If Jasmine informed Bryant that he was the biological father, Bryant could contest the paternity and request a court hearing. The court could order a genetic or DNA test that would verify Bryant was the biological father and determine that he was the legal father.