By Dianna Thompson.
Paternity establishment is a good thing. Children should know and have the opportunity to form secure, loving relationships with their fathers. Establishing paternity also ensures that a father has legal rights and that children have rights; to their inheritance, their father’s medical and life insurance benefits, and Social Security and veterans’ benefits, plus access to paternal family medical history.
Every year men are assigned paternity for children they didn’t father due to:
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- In-Hospital Paternity Acknowledgements
- Marital Paternity Fraud
- Default Judgements
- Lack of Legal Representation
In-hospital paternity acknowledgments are a cornerstone of government policy and a requirement for any state seeking TANF funds. This is an example of good intentions gone bad. If the program was well-designed and DNA testing was done prior to asking a man to sign a “paternity acknowledgment” then this program might work. However, a program that fails to screen out false paternity establishments scores a temporary statistical victory but causes enormous enforcement burdens and emotional costs to the victims of false establishments.
For centuries, courts followed a rule known as the “presumption of paternity.” This tenet of common law states that unless a man can prove that he is sterile, impotent, or was away from home at the time of conception, he is the legal father of any child born to his wife during their marriage. The Romans first adopted this rule, and the English incorporated it into common law some 500 years ago. Despite scientific advances and case law that supports the use of DNA tests as evidence in exonerating the accused, the presumption of paternity remains in practice even today. Presumptions of paternity served a useful purpose at a time when truth could not be obtained. We now live in a world where the truth is available through DNA testing. For less than $100.00 we can know with certainty whether a particular man is or is not the father of a particular child. Mothers who are applying for child support or welfare benefits must disclose who the father of their child is so that paternity can be established and benefits approved. There is no requirement for mothers to make a truthful disclosure to the alleged father, to government officials, and to the courts as to who the “true” father is and if another man could be the father.
Applicants applying for child support and welfare benefits must also give the “last known address” of the proposed father. In many cases, the addresses are not correct and therefore the summons for paternity establishment goes to the wrong address and the proposed father never receives it. When he doesn’t appear in court because he did not receive the summons — a default judgment — will be issued and he will turn into an instant dad.
There are very few environments in which one is more at the mercy of others than to be an unrepresented litigant in an American court. Paternity fraud victims who cannot afford appellate counsel are no more likely to be able to afford trial counsel. The proposed father (who in most cases hasn’t even taken a DNA test) is hustled through the formality, often in less than five minutes, and may not even realize what has happened until his paycheck is garnished for child support for a child that may not be his.
Currently, federal policies create unintended and perverse incentives that foster paternity fraud to the great injury of children and men, as well as great costs in compliance efforts.
The most important change that can be made by the federal government is also the simplest. For purposes of state compliance with paternity establishment targets and incentive payments, the federal government should count only those paternities that are confirmed by a DNA test. Congress should also instruct the bureaucracy to count and identify paternity fraud victims, develop mechanisms for their emancipation, and require procedures to minimize future paternity fraud victimization.
Dianna Thompson is a nationally recognized expert on families, stepfamilies, and divorce-related issues. Dianna is an authority on domestic policy as it pertains to men, women, and children. A longtime political analyst, lobbyist, and spokesperson, Dianna has testified all over the country on legislation that affects families and served as the Chairman of the Family Law Reform Committee in Los Angeles, CA.
Dianna was instrumental in drafting the very first paternity fraud bill in CA and has testified all over the country on similar bills. In 2002, Dianna worked closely with Senator Rodrick Wright, sponsor of the California Paternity Justice Act (AB2240), which was passed by the California legislature; but, later vetoed by Governor Gray Davis – Dianna was one of the first spokespersons on this issue. She has done countless radio shows and made numerous television appearances as an expert on paternity fraud. Additionally, she has written numerous articles and quoted in the largest newspapers and magazine in the country regarding paternity fraud.
Dianna has made numerous local and national television appearances, including the NBC Today Show, NBC The John Walsh Show, CNN, CNN Financial Network, Fox News Live, Montel Williams, MSNBC, and Court TV’s Catherine Crier. She has also made hundreds of radio appearances, including National Public Radio, Radio America, Talk America, ABC Radio, CBS Radio, the Jim Bohannon Show, the Dennis Prager Show, the Lionel Show, the Mike Gallagher Show, the John & Ken Show, the Bill Handel Show, the Jason Lewis Show, the Tom Leykis Show, the Chris Core Show, the BBC, and more.
Dianna has written columns for or been quoted in hundreds of major newspapers, magazines and websites, including Time Magazine, Redbook, Jane Magazine, the ABA Journal, Playboy, Smart Money, Black Enterprise, Insight magazine, USA Today, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Newsday, the Orange County Register, the Detroit News, the Washington Times, the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington Post, the Newark Star Ledger, the Miami Herald, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the Christian Science Monitor, the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the Sacramento Bee, the Tulsa World, the Houston Chronicle, the San Diego Union Tribune, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the New York Sun Times, the Chicago Sun Times, the Cincinnati Post, the Seattle Times, and the Associated Press.
Dianna is a sought out speaker and has spoken all over the country regarding paternity fraud, divorce, and family-related issues affecting men, women, and families.