Appeals Court Determines That Trial Court Erred In Disestablishing Paternity For Father

In Florida, paternity can be established in numerous ways. If a woman gives birth to a child while she is married, the husband is established as the legal father of the child. If the father is named on the child’s birth certificate, then that individual is considered the legal father of the child. In contested paternity cases, the court will often conduct a DNA test to determine who is the biological father of the child. In some cases, the legal father of the child and the biological father of the child are not the same person. In these cases, the matter can get tricky. Paternity disputes should be handled promptly. You will only have so much time to act before the standard to disestablish paternity gets higher. In this article, the Orlando, FL paternity attorneys at Greater Orlando Family Law will discuss one case in which a legal father had his paternity disestablished after DNA testing proved he was not the biological father. The appeals court overturned the trial court’s decision.

Background of the case 

In the case of Castillo v. Rodriguez, Rodriguez, the child’s mother, gave birth in 2014. Castillo was an on-again off-again partner with Rodriguez. Castillo filed a petition to determine paternity based on his belief that the child was his. The couple was never married, but Castillo was listed as the child’s father on the birth certificate. Later, both parties stipulated to adjudicating Castillo as the natural father of the child.

However, the mother later filed an amended verified counter-petition for the determination of paternity, parental responsibility, parenting plan, time-sharing schedule, and for relocation. The mother alleged that she had recently married her long-time boyfriend and sought to relocate with him to Colorado. The court ultimately denied Rodriguez’s motion for relocation but entered an agreement that allowed Castillo to keep the child the majority of the time while the child would spend the summer months in Colorado with the mother and her boyfriend.

Less than a year later, the mother filed a motion to disestablish Castillo’s paternity. She recalled being intimate with another man but did not think he could be the biological father due to his fertility issues. She asked the man to submit a DNA test and it turned out there was a 99.99% likelihood that he was the biological father. The mother then filed a joint motion with the other father to disestablish Castillo’s paternity and establish the other man as the legal father of the child. Ultimately, the trial court disestablished Castillo as the legal father of the child.

Castillo appealed the decision. The appeals court held that because Castillo was listed on the birth certificate as the biological father and because he was the only father the child had ever known, he was rightfully the legal father of the child. They reversed the trial court’s decision.

Talk to an Orlando, FL Family Law Attorney Today 

Questions related to paternity? Call the Orlando family lawyers at Greater Orlando Family Law today. We can help you establish or disestablish paternity.

Source:

law.justia.com/cases/florida/third-district-court-of-appeal/2021/3d20-0681.html