He says he had a DNA test done on our daughter, and he’s not the father

Dear Mrs Macaulay,

I gave birth to my daughter in June 2004 and she has not known any other father but her present one.

He was supporting our daughter sporadically, and we continued a relationship until 2008, but I left because he was sleeping around without using protection.

I told him that if he did not start to support our daughter properly then I would take him to the Family Court. He went and picked up our daughter at school, and claimed he did a paternity test and that it showed he was not the father. I have not seen any test results but he keeps on harassing me and even went to and called people at my workplace, telling them that I gave him a child that does not belong to him.

I was not in a relationship with anyone else, so I do not know how the DNA results could have shown he was not the father. He is even calling me and telling me that I am going to have to give him back every cent that he had given me for the child and also that he wants his name off the child’s birth certificate. He claims he has a lawyer, but I have not got any correspondence. Honestly, I am scared because I just do not have any money to hire a lawyer.

Can he just take the child to do any DNA test without me being there and bring back results to me, and then a court will accept those results? If by chance what he says is true, do I have to return any money to him? Can I still sue him for child support even if what he says is true? If he wants his name off the birth certificate, isn’t he the one who is supposed to pay the legal fees to do so? Most of all, does he have the right to be going to or calling my workplace to tell people there that I gave him a child that does not belong to him?

I am happy to note that you took a decision to protect yourself from the dangers of continuing a relationship with your erstwhile spouse who was engaging in unprotected sex with other parties. You clearly did the right thing and now your child’s father seems to be punishing you and your daughter because you took that decision.

It is a pity that over the years you permitted him to only periodically provide maintenance for your child, the issue of your union. You should, as a responsible mother acting in your child’s best interests, have taken him to the Family Court ages ago. You had and continue to have that duty to your daughter and all you did was threaten to take him to court.

By doing this, you seem to have unleashed some very questionable and vindictive actions on his part against you and also against your daughter’s interests generally.

You state that following your threat to take him to the Family Court he took your daughter out of school and without showing you any test results, claimed he had a DNA paternity test done which showed that he is not her father.

My dear mother, why are you scared if you know he is the father of your child, and when you say he was the only one you had a relationship with? How do you know that he really had a DNA test done? He has not proved anything and certainly not in any way which will satisfy any court.

Do not get yourself worked up about all that he has said. Words are cheap and too easy to voice. You do not need a lawyer to go to the Family Court and file the applications which you should file. You really must file and proceed with your applications. This man, with his unsubstantiated allegations and threats of action, plus his slanderous attack on your good reputation, has you on the run. This was and is clearly his intention and you are letting him get away with it. You cannot, for your daughter’s sake, allow this situation to continue.

Your legal options

You must go to the Family Court and proceed with your application for the following:-

1. Custody, care and control of your daughter, with reasonable access as fixed by the court to him.

2. Maintenance for your daughter (for this you must detail and add together all that she needs to survive, including her proportional share of your rental (if any) and of your JPS and NWC payments and that he pays one-half of all educational expenses including for her uniforms, school shoes and sportswear and general clothing and shoes) and all medical, optical and dental expenses.

He will probably, after he is served and appears on the day of hearing, tell the court that he is not the father. The court will then tell him that if he is questioning his paternity, a DNA test can be done and you will be asked if you agree. You should say yes you agree, but on condition that you take your daughter yourself and that he alone pays for it. You can tell the judge of the Family Court that he had told you that he had taken her and done a test which showed he was not the father after you broke up with him for his irresponsible sexual conduct and though he has been harassing you and scandalising you, he has never produced any test results for you to see.

Please do not be afraid to do this. As you yourself said, if he wishes to get his name off the birth certificate he would have to apply to do so, and this can only be done if he gets the court to accept his alleged DNA test result. You have the right to object to it and to demand that another just and proper test be done with you present throughout the procedure and that he must pay for such a test.

But, dear mother, in my opinion, you should not leave anything up to him. You must act to protect your child and yourself from this vindictive man. He seems to be acting like a man who is worried and afraid and so he has been talking to all and sundry and harassing you, so that you will become fearful and therefore take no action against him.

Please do not leave the suspicions he has created around you but most especially around your daughter and the issue of her paternity. You have to remove the effects of his statements to your employers and others, so that your daughter can be freed of the yoke of any doubt in this regard.

So please go to the Family Court and do what you must in the best interests of your child and consequently for your own peace of mind.

Good luck to you and your daughter.

Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5.

DISCLAIMER:

The contents of this article are for informational purposes only and must not be relied upon as an alternative to legal advice from your own attorney.