Private MD News

Georgia law says that non-biological fathers may still owe child support

Category: DNA, Paternity and Genetic testing

Although almost a third of men who take a paternity test discover a child they believe to be their own is not, Georgia state law has only recently allowed ex-husbands and out-of-wedlock fathers to petition to end child support through DNA evidence.

"If you don't file it exactly as it is written, you don't avail yourself to the relief," family lawyer Randy Kessler told WSBTV. A request to be relieved from child support must come within 90 days of finding out the child isn't yours, according to Kessler, although it isn't an absolute limit. "If you don't do it within 90 days, the court is still allowed to give you relief. It is permissive relief, but it's a case-by-case decision and it's up to the judge."

The report highlights the case of Larry Durden, an unemployed mason worker, who is being threatened with jail time if he doesn't pay $1,000 in back child support for a child who, according to a DNA paternity test, is not his biological son. Despite the genetic evidence it is not his son, the state of Georgia is demanding he pay $500 in child support every month.