Paternity fraud and compensation for misattributed paternity

Abstract

Claims for reimbursement of child support, the reversal of property settlements and compensation can arise when misattributed paternity is discovered. The ethical justifications for such claims seem to be related to the financial cost of bringing up children, the absence of choice about taking on these expenses, the hard work involved in child rearing, the emotional attachments that are formed with children, the obligation of women to make truthful claims about paternity, and the deception involved in infidelity. In this paper it is argued that there should not be compensation for infidelity and that reimbursement is appropriate where the claimant has made child support payments but has not taken on the social role of father. Where the claimant’s behaviour suggests a social view of fatherhood, on the other hand, claims for compensation are less coherent. Where the genetic model of fatherhood dominates, the “other” man (the woman’s lover and progenitor of the children) might also have a claim for the loss of the benefits of fatherhood. It is concluded that claims for reimbursement and compensation in cases of misattributed paternity produce the same distorted and thin view of what it means to be a father that paternity testing assumes, and underscores a trend that is not in the interests of children.

Investigation of the parenting behaviors of fathers in the postpartum period

“…Babanın bebeğiyle birlikte olması, dokunması, konuşması, oynaması, çocuğuyla ilgili çeşitli kararlara aktif olarak katılması çocuğuyla arasında güçlü bir bağın oluşmasına neden olmakta ve daha sonraki baba çocuk ilişkisinin devamını sağ-lamaktadır. Babası ile bebekliğin ilk günlerinden itibaren iletişimde olan çocukların duygusal, bilişsel ve sosyal becerilerinin diğer çocuklara göre daha güçlü olduğu belirtilmektedir (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11) . Baba olmak bir erkeğin yaşamının tüm yönlerinde iz bırakacak nitelikte yaşamında kalıcı değişiklik yaratan bir olaydır.…”

Cases of Paternity Discrepancy in a Nigerian Tertiary Hospital

“…This discrepancy between social or legal paternity and genetic paternity has been described as, 'Parental discrepancy', 'non-paternity event' or 'misattributed paternity'. 1,2 Parental discrepancy may be an incidental discovery in the course of genetic testing for other medical conditions. 3 The parent, particularly the male, may also become apprehensive about his place in the biological make-up of the child whose paternity has been attributed to him and demand for paternity test to ascertain the true parentage (paternity) of the child.…”

“…4 Outside the context of assisted reproduction, this situation is assumed to be a definite proof of infidelity. 2 There are both conventional and non-conventional methods of assessing paternity. The nonconventional methods include the possession of certain recognizable physical features of the family of both parents by the child.…”

Increasing awareness about the neonatal care of fathers whose babies are hospitalized in neonatal intensive care unit

“…[19][20][21] The knowledge of the father in the baby care can make him feel more comfortable about it and allow him to participate more in baby care. [12] Our study indicated that the majority of the fathers in experimental and control groups did not receive baby care training before.…”