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6 J.L. & Fam. Stud. 237 (2004)
Little White Lies That Destroy Children's Lives - Recreating Paternity Fraud Laws to Protect Children's Interests

handle is hein.journals/jlfst6 and id is 243 raw text is: Little White Lies That Destroy Children's Lives- Recreating Paternity Fraud Laws to Protect Children's Interests Niccol D. Kording* After the Blue Fairy brings the wooden boy Pinocchio' to life, she cau- tions him to be brave, unselfish and honest-virtues necessary if he is to be- come a human boy. When Pinocchio fails to heed this advice and lies to the Blue Fairy, his nose grows, reminding him, as well as those he lied to, that he was being dishonest. He could not deny the lie as his nose told the truth, grow- ing into a tree limb. However, unlike Pinocchio, when a mother is neither brave, unselfish nor honest in paternity determinations, her nose does not grow and the person lied to may have no reason to question the liar's honesty. The ramifications of those lies can be as devastating to the child as the lies were to Pinocchio, who was swindled by a con man and swallowed by a whale. Unlike Pinocchio, a fairy tale ending is neither guaranteed nor likely when the little white lie about a child's paternity is discovered by the parent who was lied to even if there was no paternal relationship with the child. Marriages, relationships and families end.2 Children are abandoned by the only fathers they ever knew.3 Fathers are bitter and fight to disown the non-biological child.4 Children lose their sense of identity.5 And the damage cannot be undone. While the father also suffers an economic loss when a mother lies about a child's paternity, either by being forced to continue paying child support or providing for the child's needs,6 the child is the victim, losing family when a paternal relationship exists, as well as certainty and trust in his parents. Pater- nity fraud laws do little to remedy the loss to the child who has been subject to the same lie as the father. Instead, they either punish the child by completely taking away a father-child relationship7 or by requiring financial support from the father without any true emotional involvement.8 The emotional involve- ment is severed by not only the father but also the courts when they terminate * Associate Professor of Law and Director of Advocacy at Western State University Col- lege of Law. Special thanks to Connie Hood for her support and comments. Pinocchio is the wooden boy who became human from the 1940 Walt Disney animated film, PINOCCHIO. 2 See infra Section III. B. 5. and accompanying notes. 3 See infra Section III. B. 3. and accompanying notes. 4 See infra notes 206-09, 213-24 and Section m. B. 3. and accompanying notes. 5 See infra notes 197-200 and accompanying text. 6 See generally infra notes 100-03 and accompanying text. 7 See infra notes 84-123 and accompanying text. 8 See Lisa Sandberg, DNA Doesn't Define Dad, SAN ANTONIO ExPRESs-NEWS. April 21, 2002 (Web posted).

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