julie93312 said:
i need to find out what the statuet of limitations is on proving paternity in the state of california
My response:
An unwed father’s rights and duties depend on whether he is a "presumed father" within the meaning of Fam C §7611. A man who has neither legally married nor attempted to legally marry the mother of his child cannot become a presumed father unless he physically receives the child into his home and openly holds the child out as his natural child. [Fam C §7611(d)]
A man who is not impotent or sterile and who is cohabitating with his wife is conclusively presumed to be the natural father of a child of the marriage. [Fam C §§7540, 7611; for rejection of constitutional challenges to the conclusive presumption, see Michael H. v Gerald D. (1989) 491 US 110, 105 L Ed 2d 91, 109 S Ct 2333; Michelle W. v Ronald W. (1985) 39 Cal 3d 354, 216 Cal Rptr 748, 703 P2d 88]
However, despite the "conclusiveness" of the presumption, it is inapplicable if, based on a blood test administered pursuant to the Uniform Act on Blood Tests to Determine Paternity (Fam C §§7550 et seq.), all of the experts conclude that the husband is not the father of the child. [Fam C §7541(a); see also Fam C §7551 (party to paternity proceeding who refuses to submit to blood test may have question of paternity decided against him)]
In addition to the aforementioned conclusive presumption, a rebuttable presumption that a man is the natural father arises in the following situations [Fam C §7611]:
(1). The alleged father and the child’s natural mother are or have been married to each other and the child is born within 300 days after the marriage is terminated.
(2). Before the child’s birth, the alleged father and the natural mother attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with the law, although such marriage is or could be declared invalid, and either: (a) if the attempted marriage could be declared invalid only by a court, the child is born during such marriage or within 300 days after its termination; or (b) if the attempted marriage is invalid without a court order, the child is born within 300 days after the termination of cohabitation.
(3). After the child’s birth, the alleged father and the natural mother married or attempted to marry each other by a marriage solemnized in apparent compliance with the law, although such marriage is or could be declared invalid, and either: (a) the alleged father has consented to being maned as the father on the child’s birth certificate, or (b) he is obligated to support the child under a written voluntary promise or by court order.
(4). The alleged father receives the child into his home and openly holds out the child as his natural child.
(5). If the child was born and resides in a nation with which the United States engages in an Orderly Departure Program, the alleged father acknowledges that he is the child’s father in a declaration complying with CCP §2015.5.
A rebuttable presumption under Fam C §7611 is one affecting the burden of proof, and it may be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence. [Fam C §7612(a)]
IAAL
