Legal Process To Challenge Paternity
The challenge of paternity is a right that the alleged father or the alleged child has to request the court to annul a filiation. All matters related to the challenge of paternity are complex and very difficult, not only from a legal point of view, but also because of the emotions and feelings that they carry.
A claim of this nature is only admitted with the presentation of a principle of proof of the facts on which it is based. In order to address the issue of the legal process to challenge paternity, it is necessary, first, to understand the regulation of parentage.
In effect, this regulation of the challenge of paternity will give us the guideline to know the legitimacy and the terms of the challenge actions; it is essential to follow the steps of the process.
Filiation
Affiliation takes place and is accredited through registration in the Civil Registry or through the judgment document that legally determines it. The determination of parental parentage can occur in different ways. The first is the marital affiliation, legally determined by the registration of the birth of a child together with the marriage of the parents.
Indeed, the Civil Code establishes that children born after the celebration of a marriage are presumably the husband’s. This is also valid for those born before 300 days after the dissolution of the marriage or the separation of the spouses.
However, this presumption can be overridden by the husband when the child is born within 180 days of the marriage. The filiation has the character of matrimonial from the date of celebration of the marriage, regardless of whether it is after the birth of the child.
For its part, non-marital affiliation can be established at the time of registration of the birth in the Civil Registry, through the declaration made by the father using the corresponding official form.
In this non-marital affiliation, the father can also recognize the child in front of the Civil Registry Officer, through a will or in some other type of public document or by sentence.
Challenge of paternity
In the case of marital affiliation, both the husband and the mother can challenge the presumption of paternity. So can the child himself. The husband has a term of one year from the date of registration. However, as long as the husband ignores the birth, this period will not run.
This one-year period can be extended to four years when the husband is unaware of his lack of biological paternity. In that case, the period will start from when the husband has knowledge of the fact.
In the case of the son, he can challenge paternity up to one year after the filiation is registered. If you are a minor, the term will run from the age of 18. When the child is not aware that the parent who is registered as such is not his biological father, the period of one year will begin to run as soon as he knows it.
The mother can challenge the paternity of her child, always thinking of the best interests of the minor, within a period of one year from the registration of filiation. Unlike the father, the mother can only make this challenge on behalf of the child and not on her own behalf.
The tests to grant or deny the challenge of paternity can be of a different nature. They include testimonies of the parents themselves, photographs and all kinds of documents. But, without a doubt, the indisputable proof is the biological proof, which scientifically determines non-affiliation. This is the most reliable method in most cases.
The claim of paternity
The claim of paternity is, for its part, the situation in which it is sought to determine the filiation in favor of a parent. This claim can be requested by the father, the mother or the child. In order to initiate a lawsuit in this sense, it is necessary to present a principle of proof of the facts on which it is based.
The evidence for the paternity claim can be photographs or documents that confirm the relationship of the parents, as well as testimonies from people who know them. Biological tests are also decisive in this case.
