Negative Paternity Test Results Do Not Eliminate Parental Rights
Posted on Mon, Apr 16, 2012 @ 01:55 PM
An unfit mother's parental rights need not be ended in order for her estranged husband to gain sole custody, even though he turns out not to be the biological father, a New Jersey appeals court ruled on Thursday. His parental rights already are established by the presumption of paternity by marriage under state statute, and adoption is thus unnecessary, the court said in N.J. Division of Youth and Family Services v. D.S.H., A-5723-10. "A scientific test is not the functional equivalent of a court order; nor does a paternity test negating paternity automatically result in a court order of non-parentage," the panel said.
PRESUMPTIVE FATHER OF CHILD KEEPS HIS STATUS EVEN IF PATERNITY TEST NEGATIVE
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