What’s the Difference between a Legal and Biological Father Under Florida Law?

There are numerous ways to establish paternity in Florida. Not all of them involve DNA testing. One way to establish paternity is by being named as the father on the child’s birth certificate or being married when a child is born. If you are the husband of the pregnant wife, the court will presume you are the father of the child. You will be named as the child’s father on the birth certificate and have parental rights over the child. This remains true even if DNA testing later proves you are not the biological father. In that case, you would have to prove fraud, duress, or coercion resulted in you signing the birth certificate.

In one important Florida case, Van Weelde v. Van Weelde, a husband and legal father or a child had his child delegitimized by the court after it was determined that he was not the biological father through DNA testing. In this case, the father appealed the court’s decision and the court found in favor of the legal father regardless of what DNA testing established. In this article, the Tampa paternity lawyers at Westchase Law, P.A. will discuss the decision and how it impacts all Florida paternity challenges.

Background of the case

 In this case, there was no dispute that the father was not the biological father of the child. When husband and wife first met, the wife was already pregnant with the child. However, the husband was present at the child’s birth and named as the child’s father on the birth certificate. Husband and wife both signed a voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity in accord with Florida statutes which named the husband as the legal father of the child.

The husband and wife married when the child was 16 months old. For the entirety of the child’s life, the husband acted as the child’s father and was the only father the child had ever known. The biological father had nothing to do with the child’s life and contributed nothing to his support.

When the wife filed her petition for the dissolution of marriage, she alleged that there were no minor children born of the marriage. The wife’s sole basis for making this allegation was that the husband was not the biological father of the child. In his counterpetition, the husband admitted he was not the child’s biological father but argued that he was the legal father of the child and that he had a right to maintain that legal status. The trial court, however, found in favor of the wife concluding that the husband’s admission that he was not the biological father was enough to deny paternity.

The husband appealed. The appeals court found that because he was the legal father of the child, he still had parental rights over the child, and the fact that he was not the biological father did not matter at all to the court.

Talk to a Tampa, FL Paternity Lawyer Today 

If you are a Florida father fighting for paternity rights over a child, the Tampa paternity attorneys at Westchase Law, P.A. can help you assert your rights in court by applying the prevailing Florida law. This is true even if a DNA test says you are not the father. Call our office today to schedule an appointment and learn more about how we can help.

Source:

casetext.com/case/van-weelde-v-van-weelde