Maternity is a matter of fact. Paternity is a matter of opinion.
Not often, but on occasion, family law lawyers are faced with the prospect of dealing with paternity issues. Under the Family Law Act in Alberta parties are able to apply to have the parentage of a child determined by way of a DNA/Blood test. This is an issue that the courts recently dealt with in Ontario in the case of Griggs v. Cummins. In Griggs, the father applied to the court to determine parentage of the child. He did so knowing that even if he was found not to be the biological father, he would have to pay child support because he had stood in the place of the biological father and acted as the child's father. This is a term we refer to as in loco parentis. In Griggs the mother and her family strongly resisted the application. Red flag number one for Mr. Griggs.
The case law with respect to paternity tests provides that leave to have the test completed ought to be granted unless if can be shown that the test itself may affect the health of the child or the actual request to take the test is made in bad faith.
The best interests of the children is a construct that the court will look into in any matter involving children. Paternity testing is no different. In fact, in Griggs the court opined that it is in the best interests of the child to have some certainty as to who the father was and it is in societies best interests to know who the primary persons responsible for support are.
Not often, but on occasion, family law lawyers are faced with the prospect of dealing with paternity issues. Under the Family Law Act in Alberta parties are able to apply to have the parentage of a child determined by way of a DNA/Blood test. This is an issue that the courts recently dealt with in Ontario in the case of Griggs v. Cummins. In Griggs, the father applied to the court to determine parentage of the child. He did so knowing that even if he was found not to be the biological father, he would have to pay child support because he had stood in the place of the biological father and acted as the child's father. This is a term we refer to as in loco parentis. In Griggs the mother and her family strongly resisted the application. Red flag number one for Mr. Griggs.
The case law with respect to paternity tests provides that leave to have the test completed ought to be granted unless if can be shown that the test itself may affect the health of the child or the actual request to take the test is made in bad faith.
The best interests of the children is a construct that the court will look into in any matter involving children. Paternity testing is no different. In fact, in Griggs the court opined that it is in the best interests of the child to have some certainty as to who the father was and it is in societies best interests to know who the primary persons responsible for support are.