Child Support Archives - Page 3 of 5

Increasing Awareness of Paternity Fraud in America

by HOMEDNA on 11/01/2012

IDENTIGENE has been working to increase awareness of paternity fraud in America whereby a woman allows a man to assume he is the biological father, even though he is not.

It’s an issue with potentially serious consequences for everyone involved, from financial obligations to custody arrangements to emotional attachments.

The campaign to raise awareness of paternity fraud reached millions of people and was conducted through advertising, outreach to news organizations, social media, and the efforts of Dennis Fuller, a Dallas, Texas attorney who has championed this cause. ‘In my professional experience, the truth about paternity leads to a positive outcome for everyone involved,’ Fuller says.

One Paternity Fraud Story

Mr. Fuller provides the example of his client, Barry Wallace. Mr. Wallace was sentenced to prison for nonpayment of child support. His wife sought legal assistance and DNA testing, eventually proving paternity fraud and freeing her husband from jail. The mother of the little girl had a brief encounter with Wallace and had for years wanted to stop the child support, enabling her husband to officially adopt the little girl and assume financial obligation. Disestablishing paternity was a positive for all parties.

See more of Mr. Wallace’s personal story here.

The state of Texas offers a case study for tackling the issue of paternity fraud. Texas law had long held that once the court officially identified someone as the father, that designation could not be changed-even if DNA testing proved he was not the father. Accordingly, men identified as the father were also obligated to pay child support, which can be as high as 40% of a man’s income. On May 12, 2011, the Texas Family Code was amended. The new law created a window of time, or statute of limitations, for men previously adjudicated to be ‘the father’ to petition the court for DNA testing. If DNA testing proved a man not the biological father, the court would terminate future child support payments.

A deadline of September 1, 2012, was set for men to come forward to petition for DNA testing. Looking ahead, the new law allows one calendar year to petition the court for DNA testing when a man suspects he is a victim of paternity fraud. If a man suspects he is not the father, he must notify the court and request a DNA paternity test within 12 months of the day he discovers he is not the father. If DNA testing proves a man is not the father, the obligation for future child support can be voided. If the 12-month deadline is missed, DNA does not matter and a man will be held to these future financial obligations.

Paternity Fraud: Some Stats

According to SupportKids.com, more than 8 million children in the United States do not receive any of the child support they are owed. The national unpaid child support balance exceeds $106 billion. Penalties for owing child support include wage garnishment and jail. In some cases, men are punished for not paying support for a child later determined not biologically related. The amount of unpaid child support due to paternity fraud is not known. ‘IDENTIGENE processes thousands of paternity tests every month and about one-third come back excluded, meaning the alleged father is not the biological father. We know paternity fraud is real and its effects can be life altering,’ says IDENTIGENE Executive Director, Steve Smith.

Disestablishing paternity varies by state. Some attorneys advise men who father a child outside of marriage to do a DNA paternity test before signing a birth certificate. If you suspect paternity fraud, IDENTIGENE suggests contacting a family law attorney to discuss next steps.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! If you have questions about paternity tests or other DNA testing services, please contact our Client Support Center at 888-404-4363, Mon-Fri from 9 AM to 6 PM Eastern Time. Our friendly, expert representatives are ready and happy to help. Get answers anytime by visiting our Help Center.

Paternity Test: The Importance of Knowing the Truth

by HOMEDNA on 12/26/2011

‘You are NOT the father!” Do you hear these words in the back of your mind when you think of paternity testing? So how would you feel if you actually do find out you are not the father? If you have been living under the same roof and raising the child in question, you probably aren’t too happy to hear this news. The same goes for responsible fathers paying child support to a child who is not biologically theirs. The deception and pain are unimaginable. Here are some quick stats:

Several researchers peg the non-paternity rate (the percentage of men who think they are the biological father, but in reality are not) at 10% worldwide. So that means 1 in every 10 fathers is not really the biological father.
Another interesting statistic is that 29% of the time when a man questioning paternity takes a paternity test, he will find his suspicions confirmed. This means that nearly 3 of every 10 men who have a paternity doubt are not the biological fathers.

The message here is that men who question paternity should have a paternity test. The sooner the better. After the child is born, a simple cheek swab from the infant, along with the alleged father’s cheek swab, is all that is needed to answer this important question.Here are a few of the many reasons paternity tests are important:

Sense of identity - a child knowing to whom they are biologically linked
Health history - hereditary factors influence preventative health measures
Financial support - many households require two incomes to keep up with the cost of living
Benefits - health insurance, social security and veteran benefits benefit biological children
Government Aid - Paternity allows parents to seek government assistance if they qualify.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! If you have questions about paternity tests or other DNA testing services, please contact our Client Support Center at 888-404-4363, Mon-Fri from 9 AM to 6 PM Eastern Time. Our friendly, expert representatives are ready and happy to help. Get answers anytime by visiting our Help Center.

Bibliography

Anderson, Kermyt G. “How Well Does Paternity Confidence Match Actual Paternity? Evidence from Worldwide Nonpaternity Rates.” JSTOR. The University of Chicago Press, 1 June 2006. Web. 26 Dec. 2011.

Paternity Suit Brings Teen Sexual Pressures and Consequences to Surface

by HOMEDNA on 11/07/2011

The recent Justin Bieber paternity suit brings to the surface many issues facing our youth today. One, peer pressure to engage in sexual activity before marriage. Two, the consequences of unprotected sex. Three, raising children in fatherless families and the long-term effects on them mentally. You don’t have to take our word for it, the studies are out there and unfortunately children are exposed to these realities daily. We learned some interesting facts from the TECHSex USA Report produced by Internet Sexuality Information Services, Inc. (formerly ISIS, Inc.): a not-for-profit organization, founded in 2001, that supports and empowers young people to make informed decisions about their sexual activity. More information is available at yth.org

Currently, about 42% of 15 to 19 year olds who are unmarried have engaged in sex at least once. On a monthly basis, about 25% are sexually active. Low income, urban youth of color are more likely to engage in sexual behavior at even earlier ages.

The U.S. teen pregnancy rate is at approximately 71.5 per 1,000 teens. It is still much higher than other Western industrialized nations. Pregnancy rates for African American and Hispanic teens are 126 and 127 per 1,000.

Approximately 80% of unmarried teenagers used contraception the first time they had sex, and 68% of unmarried women and 81% of unmarried men, used a condom. At their last time of intercourse, 84% of women and 93% of men used contraception.

Youth aged 15 to 24 accounts for half of the sexually transmitted infections acquired annually, despite comprising only 25% of the total US population. It has been widely reported that a quarter of all teenage girls suffer from some type of STI with one in five becoming infected within a year of their first sexual encounter. Youth of color are disproportionately affected by STIs, including HIV, across the nation, with chlamydia rates for young African-American women reaching nine times as high as rates for Caucasian youth. African Americans were disproportionately affected by HIV infection, accounting for 55% of all HIV infections.

ISIS study can be read here.

If you have questions about paternity tests or other DNA testing services, please contact our Client Support Center at 888-404-4363, Mon-Fri from 9 AM to 6 PM Eastern Time. Our friendly, expert representatives are ready and happy to help.

One Paternity Fraud Story

Paternity Fraud: Some Stats

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