Q: My ex is getting custody of my oldest child, he is not biologically his. How do I stop this?
Ex husband was very abusive, reports and rrests on dv. Bc of a recent case with hhs and drug use (children not exposed in any way via proof hair follicle test) Temp guardianship was given to my parents. The ex, who was just released from jail on the exact same charges as me after being completely absent was given placement after 6 supervised visits. We are both clean now. We began dating while pregnant with my first child. He was manipulative, controlling and abusive. I didn't stop him signing irth certificate. We married 2 yrs later and had two morechildren, then a divorce finalized 4 yrs later. During custody hearings he still had a abusive control and threatened me from revealing he was not the bio dad to establish paternity, I did so under distress to avoid trouble from him. My oldest has always known this and acknowledges both fathers were absent most of his life. Im will take repercussions for my actions to prevent custody with ex. He refused DNA but bio dad is willing
A:
You may want to take a look at the Nebraska Supreme Court case at Cesar C. v. Alicia L, 281 Neb. 979 (2011). In this case, the mother and non-biological father signed a notarized acknowledgment of paternity (the document signed that puts a father's on a birth certificate) stating that the non-biological father was the child's father. The non-biological father acted in the role of the child's father. A contested custody case was later filed by the non-biological father, the court granted a temporary order granted the non-biological father custody. Genetic testing paternity results later showed that the non-biological father was not the biological father and then gave custody to the mother. The Nebraska Supreme Court reversed and said that the court did not give proper weight to the acknowledgment which legally established the father as the child's father even though he wasn't the biological father.
There is also caselaw in Nebraska that states if the child is confirmed as a child of the parents in a divorce action and continues to act in the role of the child's father, it may be very difficult, if not impossible, for the Court to later rule he is not the child's legal father even if the father is not the child's biological father.
It can be very difficult to disestablish paternity once paternity has been established by a court order or by signing the birth certificate if the father then acts in the role of the child's father for many years. I have assisted with these cases in the past, but the chance of success is very fact-specific.
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