California: Appeals Court Holds that Alleged Father Not Entitled to Establish Paternity. By: Katie B.

Link for Opinion: http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=86321929827880258&hl=en&as_sdt=2,42

The California Court of Appeals held in Neil S. v. Mary L, 199 Cal. App. 4th 240 (2011) that an alleged father lacked standing to determine the existence of a parent-child relationship with the children born to a married couple.

Mary has been married to her husband, Scott, since June 2001. On May 2, 2009, Mary gave birth to twins. Scott was present at the birth and accepted the twins as his children. In February 2010, Neil filed a petition to establish paternity and for an order awarding joint custody and reasonable visitation, as well as genetic testing to determine his status as the children's biological father. Neil stated that from May 2008 to October 2008, he and Mary had an affair while being stationed in Bahrain. Neil was also married at the time. He claimed that Mary found out she was pregnant with twins in October 2008. According to Neil, she stated that she conceived them in September and the children were his.

Mary argued that Neil lacked standing to pursue an action to determine the existence of a parent-child relationship. She stated that between October 8, 2008 and October 22, 2008, she and her husband lived together in San Diego and had sexual relations on a regular basis. It was then in November 2008 that she discovered she was pregnant. Mary stated her husband, Scott, helped prepare for the babies, was present at their birth, and was the primary caregiver. Her husband’s name was on the birth certificates.

The court repealed Neil’s petition and dismissed the case. It ruled that Neil had presented evidence that he held the children out as his own, but found it undisputed that he did not receive them into his home. The court also ruled that Neil could not establish presumed father status under the Uniform Parentage Act (UPA).

Under the UPA section 7540 states, “the child of a wife cohabitating with her husband, who is not impotent or sterile, is conclusively presumed to be a child of the marriage." Mary was married to and living with Scott at the time the twins were born. Section 7611 states that a man is the natural father of a child if he "receives the child into his home and openly holds out the child as his natural child." Scott took the twins into his home and held out that they were his natural children. Neil did not receive the children into his house.

Labels: Paternity, Uniform Parentage Act, biological father