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37 Fam. L.Q. 35 (2003-2004)
Truth and Consequences: Part I. Disestablishing the Paternity of Non-Marital Children

handle is hein.journals/famlq37 and id is 53 raw text is: Truth and Consequences: Part I. Disestablishing the Paternity of Non-Marital Children* PAULA ROBERTS** I. Introduction About one-third of all children born in the United States each year are born to unmarried parents.1 In order to have a legally recognized relation- ship with their fathers, these children must have their paternity estab- lished. Historically, the only way to do this was for the mother (or the state if she was indigent) to file a paternity suit. More recently, federal law has established a framework that provides two options:2 * Either parent may bring a paternity suit to establish the relationship.3 If either parent requests, the court will order genetic tests.4 On the basis of the test * Copyright 2003 by Paula Roberts. All rights reserved. ** Paula Roberts is the Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Law & Social Policy and spe- cializes in family law as it affects low-income families. CLSP is located at 1015 Fifteenth Street, N.W., Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005, phone: (202) 906-8021, fax: (202) 842-2885, web address proberts@clasp.org. 1. For a description and analysis of the trend in non-marital births, see E. Terry-Humen et al., Births Outside Marriage: Perceptions vs. Reality, CHILD TRENDS RESEARCH BRIEF, available at www.childtrends.org. 2. The federal provisions described below are not mandatory. However, in order to receive federal funds for their state child-support-enforcement programs and their welfare programs, states must adopt these laws. 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 654(20) and 602(a)(2) (West Supp. 2002). Consequently, every state now has a series of state laws on paternity that mirror these federal requirements. 3. Under the federal law described in footnote 2 above, states must allow suits to be brought at any time before the child's 18th birthday. 42 U.S.C.A. § 666(a)(5)(A) (West Supp. 2002). They must also allow fathers as well as mothers a reasonable opportunity to initiate a paternity action. Id. § 666(a)(5)(L). 4. Under the federal laws described in note 2 above, state law must require genetic testing

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