How to revoke paternity - how to revoke paternity

Every parent rejoices at the birth of their own child. Becoming a mother or father is a great happiness for any person. Unfortunately, according to the latest statistics, almost every third child has nothing in common with the person they call dad.

It is for this reason that most of the male population is often worried about the following question: is this really my child? What to do in such a difficult situation when the child turns out to be a stranger? In this article you can find the answer to this question: how to cancel paternity establishment?

Is it possible to cancel a certificate of paternity?

No one can correctly answer the question of how to behave in a situation, and what to do when it turns out that the child is not his own. For many people, the concept of “cancellation of paternity” immediately comes to mind. It should be noted that the abolition of paternity is classified as a procedure that can hardly be called pleasant for the child and the parent.

It is important to clarify that not only paternity, but also maternity can be disputed. However, there are significantly fewer claims from the fairer sex. This is rather an exception to the rule.

It must be remembered that legally there is only a small circle of persons who have the right to challenge previously established paternity; these include:

1. a representative of the stronger sex, who was directly recorded by the father of a minor over a certain period of time. It is important to clarify that there is no statute of limitations in such a case. It makes absolutely no difference whether you considered your baby one year old or five years old, the result will be the same;
2. citizens who actually perform all the functions of parents, take care of the minor, provide for him financially, support him in every possible way, educate him, and also give him the opportunity to get a good education;
3. the child himself. However, there are certain conditions. It is important that he reaches the age of eighteen. In some cases, children do not want a specific man to be listed as the father in documents.

Answering the question of whether it is possible to cancel a certificate of paternity, the answer is yes.

Grounds for cancellation

Representatives of the stronger sex have the right to write down someone else's child in their own surname, depending on a variety of situations.

For example, a man married a girl who has a baby or a teenager. Subsequently, the lovers got married, and the newly-made husband offered to adopt the minor. In other cases, men simply do not suspect that the baby was conceived from another person. There can be a huge number of reasons.

At the same time, we must not forget that if a woman is married to a man, then his paternity is automatically indicated on the marriage certificate. His consent to this is not required.

If you pay attention to judicial practice, there are only three reasons in the presence of which a representative of the stronger sex has the right to file a lawsuit:

1. the biological father of a minor child expresses a desire for his last name to be indicated in the “Father” column on the birth certificate. He does not want an interim pope to be written into the document;
2. if a representative of the stronger sex was recognized as the father of the baby, but in fact is not one. In this case, a claim to challenge paternity should be filed through appropriate legal proceedings;
3. if there are other interested parties who have a great desire, due to any circumstances, to cross out the man indicated on the birth certificate from the document, since he is not one.

It should be clarified that such claims have no statute of limitations. It is for this reason that every person can exercise his right to revoke paternity at any convenient time.

There are a number of situations where, under current legislation, the right to challenge paternity may be limited:

1. for example, if a representative of the stronger sex was recognized as the father of the child, but he does not have any family ties with him. Also, this person is not in a legally registered relationship with the minor’s mother. In such a situation, it is also extremely important to state that the fact that you are not the father of the child was known even before the entry was made in the registry office;
2. if the baby was born as a result of artificial insemination. In this case, it is extremely important to provide written permission from both spouses;
3. if the person expressing a desire to file a claim is not classified as a person who has the legal right to do so.

As can be understood from this information, the state has limited the list of citizens who have the right to apply to the judicial authorities with a corresponding statement of claim.

How to cancel: step-by-step instructions

There are two options for revoking paternity: through the registry office and the court; in the first case, you must adhere to the following sequence of actions:

1. First, it is important to collect all the required documents to submit an application to the civil registry office at the place of residence or registration. First of all, it is important to complete the application correctly. Next, you need to provide the plaintiff’s passport. All documents must be accompanied by a birth certificate of a minor child. You also need a receipt confirming that the state fee has been paid. Usually its size is 650 rubles. All payment details can be obtained in the same account;
2. further, it is extremely important to provide a package of relevant documents to the nearest registry office or to the department where the registration was previously made;
3. Based on all the documents provided, within thirty days the plaintiff is issued a new birth certificate, in which all data will be corrected to be accurate.

As you can understand from this information, everything is extremely simple. To clarify all the information, it is recommended to contact the employees of this government agency directly. As noted earlier, paternity can also be revoked by going to court.

The sequence of actions is as follows:

1. The first step is to file a claim in court. The application must be drawn up in accordance with all rules and requirements. The claim will be considered soon. Another important point: the statement of claim must be written without errors or inaccuracies. It is important to support it with all the necessary evidence. This can be done at any time, starting from the birth of the child;
2. In the claim, you should definitely include information such as the full name of the judicial body where the application is being submitted, full name, residential address of the plaintiff, all possible explanations why the claim is being filed at all, and irrefutable evidence of your innocence, as well as a list of mandatory documents that will be issued in court by employees this government agency;
3. later, within a few business days, the claim must be registered and submitted for further consideration.

A court decision is considered binding, so whatever it is, you will have to accept it. If you wish, you can file an appeal, but often this option does not work, since it will simply remain without consideration.

Cancellation initiated by the child's mother

In this case, the procedure is as follows:

1. Initially, it is important for the plaintiff to collect a package of all required documents;
2. it is also important to collect evidence indicating that the father who is recorded in the certificate is not the biological father of the baby;
3. filing a claim in court;
4. trial;
5. after considering the case materials, the court makes its final decision;
6. The plaintiff receives a decision and a writ of execution.

Cancellation initiated by a man

The procedure looks like this:

1. first, it is important to collect all the documents required by the court;
2. Next, you need to draw up an application and submit it to the court;
3. the next step is to pay state tax;
4. filing an application with the court;
5. the plaintiff is obliged to take part in all ongoing court hearings;
6. then he receives the final decision of the judicial authority and a certificate of paternity.

Statements of claim written by the mother must be supported by a marriage certificate, a child’s birth certificate, and a pregnant woman’s card.

Current legislation allows paternity to be revoked at any time, as there are no specific deadlines. To do this, it is enough to collect all the required documents and evidence.

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Cancellation of established paternity: rules for filing a claim

Cancellation of officially established paternity can only be done through the court.

To achieve the removal of obligations to provide financial support for the child, the plaintiff must provide conclusive evidence that he is not in fact the father.

However, even if there is evidence, the court does not always satisfy such claims. Let's look at how to cancel paternity establishment and who can do it.

Conditions for revoking paternity

When a petition to revoke paternity has been filed but is withdrawn for any reason, the claim cannot be refiled. There are two legal rules for establishing paternity:

1. The status is automatically assigned to the husband of the child’s mother if the divorce was filed three hundred days or less before the baby was born.
2. The decision to take on the responsibility of raising a child was a conscious expression of the will of the man.

In both of the above situations, there is a chance to cancel the status, provided that:

• there is reason to doubt the paternity of the current or former spouse;
• the confession was made under pressure - the man was threatened or influenced psychologically and physically;
• both father and mother (or only one father) are declared incompetent.

A claim to cancel paternity can be satisfied by the court only if there is conclusive evidence that the father, who is considered as such in documents, is not a biological parent. Consideration of such cases in court, as a rule, is rare.

Establishing paternity in court: grounds, procedure, consequences

Much more often, paternal responsibilities are canceled by depriving him of parental rights. The basis for this may be an insufficiently correct attitude towards the child, exclusion from the educational process, or refusal to provide financial support for a minor dependent.

Having lost parental rights, the father will no longer be able to actively participate in his life, but the obligation to support a child who has not reached the age of majority will not be canceled.

  How to collect alimony through court?

Procedure for revoking paternity

The topic of annulment of paternity through the registry office worries many parents. In any case, permission to revoke the established status can only be obtained after a trial.

To initiate the process, you will need evidence of the legitimacy of the claim. This documentary evidence, along with the application, is submitted to the district court. A representative of a legal authority is obliged to consider the claim within 5 days and then accept or reject it. If the application is not accepted, the court must indicate to the plaintiff the reasons for its decision.

The proceedings can be conducted in a simplified manner, but only if the defendant agrees with the plaintiff’s claims. In the event that the situation turns out differently, the latter will be faced with the need to provide conclusive evidence that his claim is justified.

What documents are needed to adopt a child?

The following facts can serve as justification:

1. Witnesses gave evidence indicating that the alleged father was not living with the child's mother during the period when conception may have occurred. Evidence of the plaintiff’s non-involvement may be information about the physical intimacy of the child’s mother with a man who does not appear in the documents as the father, but may well be one.
2. Documents confirming that at the time of the alleged conception the plaintiff was not in close proximity to the child’s mother. Such confirmation may be a certificate indicating his long stay on a business trip, hospital, and so on.
3. A medical certificate indicating the plaintiff’s inability to have children.
4. DNA test result.

Such claims have no statute of limitations, so a claim to revoke paternity can be renewed at any time, regardless of how old the child is.

Who can act as a plaintiff in a case to revoke established paternity?

The statement of claim is drawn up in accordance with the established template. In particular, the document must contain information about the identities of the plaintiff and defendant (full name, home address and telephone number), the reason that forced the initiator to go to court and the essence of his claims, justification for the legality of the application, evidence indicating the validity of the claim , list of attached papers.

  How to file a claim for division of marital property?

A claim to cancel paternity will not be accepted for the following persons:

• from a man who officially appears as the father of the child;
• the mother of the child;
• from the actual father of the child;
• guardians of incapacitated or minor parents;
• in a minor child;
• from the prosecutor.

What does it cost to have a third child?

Termination of paternity legally ends the relationship between a man and a child.

But the court will not grant such a request if, at the time of submitting the application to the registry office, the father knew that he was not a biological parent.

Also, the application will be rejected in the case where the child was born through artificial insemination (surrogacy also applies here), with the written consent of all parties.

How to cancel (annul) establishment of paternity - certificate

Kalinina Evgenia, economist by education and linguist by vocation. Editor-in-Chief of the Alimenty-urist.ru project. Has 11 years of experience working in various publications.

Dear reader, we are glad to welcome you to the legal portal “Alimenty-Urist”. We hope you find our article on revocation of paternity establishment helpful. We will consider the grounds for cancellation and analyze the intricacies of the 2023 procedure. Situations when a man finds out about deception are not uncommon, so he is faced with the question of how to cancel previously assumed parental obligations.

On a note! They are deprived of both paternity and motherhood. At least the second option is less rare in judicial practice.

Who can revoke recognized paternity

The cancellation procedure takes place in court. The plaintiff may be:

1. A man who acted as a parent according to documents.
2. Mom, other persons actually performing parental functions, including guardianship, maintenance, and moral support.
3. The child himself, over the age of 18, who has good reasons to destroy family ties with his father according to documents.

Attention! There is no statute of limitations for these acts; compelling circumstances are sufficient.

Under what circumstances can previously established paternity be revoked?

The very fact of paternity, and along with it an entry in the corresponding act of records, can be made only if there is no biological relationship between the applicants. There must be indisputable evidence of such a circumstance.

There can be many reasons why a man signs up for parental obligations. And an official marriage entails automatic recognition of the offspring born by the legal spouse. And if such a situation develops that a man is registered as the father of a child who is not his own, you need to look for a way out of it.

If a man was informed that he was giving his name and care to a child other than his own, then it would be extremely difficult to get rid of the obligations he had assumed. The court will be guided by the interests of the minor in the first place.

The most common reasons for cancellation:

1. The natural father expressed a desire to give his son his name and care.
2. The citizen recognized by the pope was not actually one. In this case, the judicial challenge procedure is shown.
3. Interested parties want to completely eliminate the citizen from the child’s life due to certain circumstances.

There are certain points that prevent the abolition of parental obligations. Even if it is proven that blood ties do not bind the applicants, the court may limit the complete dissolution of the relationship.

Restrictions on cancellation of an entry in a certificate:

1. The man entered into marriage knowing in advance that the woman was pregnant. Thus, he automatically accepted parental responsibilities.
2. The child was conceived through an ECG. Both spouses give consent to artificial insemination, so they bear full responsibility for it.
3. The claim came from a person who does not have the right to initiate cancellation.

How to cancel the establishment of paternity in the registry office in 2023

The simplified procedure for annulment of kinship takes place through the registry office. In this case, the initiator needs to adhere to the following sequence:

1. Writing an application.
2. Providing supporting documentation.
3. Waiting for a certificate where the data of the stepfather was deleted from the father column.

Attention! Cancellation can be carried out in a simplified version (if everyone agrees) through the registry office and through court proceedings (if there is a dispute).

Documents that will be required:

• applicant's passport;
• child certificate;
• receipt of payment of state duty.

On a note! State fees are paid for services provided by government agencies. For changing an entry in the civil status act, a payment of 650 rubles is provided.

Download a sample application to cancel the establishment of paternity for the registry office

How to cancel the establishment of paternity in court

In most cases, it is possible to remove the title of father only through the courts. So, if there are controversial issues, the simplified procedure is not acceptable, then the following procedure is provided:

1. Filing a claim.
2. Registration of the application within five days for consideration.

Documents are needed for the court to initiate cancellation:

• a copy of the child's certificate;
• copies of parents' passport pages;
• characteristics of the parties;
• receipt for repayment of state duty.

Download a sample application to cancel the establishment of paternity for the court

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Revocation of paternity

Cancellation of a paternity record is carried out exclusively in court. This procedure is carried out by considering relevant claims from persons provided for by current legislation. These may be the following categories of citizens:

• those who are recorded in the child’s birth certificate as father or mother;
• child's guardian;
• actual parents of the child;
• the adult child himself;
• guardian of the child's parent if he has been declared legally incompetent in accordance with the procedure provided by law.

In what cases is a statement of claim not subject to satisfaction by the court?

1. if the person who is registered as the child’s father was aware at the time of recording that he is de facto not the child’s father;
2. a person who, in the manner prescribed by law, has given written consent to artificial insemination or the embryo implantation procedure does not have the right to challenge paternity, citing such circumstances;
3. does not have the right to challenge paternity or maternity after the parents left an entry directly in the birth register, citing such circumstances (if the surrogate mother agreed to the recording of this married couple as the parents of the child) a married couple who agreed to implant the embryo into another woman (surrogate mother ), as well as the surrogate mother herself.

Cancellation of paternity as a judicial procedure

To start the process of considering a dispute regarding paternity, you should apply to the court with the appropriate statement of claim (sample statement of claim to challenge paternity). Filing a claim to annul paternity in court is possible at any time from the moment the child is born.

The claim is filed in writing with the obligatory indication of the details provided for by the norms of civil and family law.

So, it should contain:

• name of the court
• Full name and address of the plaintiff (or his representative);
• justification for the violation of the rights and legitimate interests of the party and a description of its requirements;
• the facts and legal framework relied upon by the plaintiff;
• evidence supporting these facts; 
• information that the pre-trial procedure for contacting the defendant has been followed (if this is provided for in the agreement of the parties or federal law);
• list of documentation attached to the claim.

If the defendant does not agree with the claims, he has the right to file a response to the statement of claim with the court.

Arbitrage practice

The following nuance is extremely important: when resolving such situations, the judge must clarify and take into account the child’s personal opinion.

In judicial practice, there are often cases when this expression of will is violated. For example, a father initially recognizes the child as his own and agrees to have his last name written in the father’s column under threats and pressure. In the future, such an offense can be annulled.

• If the parties who are directly involved in the issue of paternity do not have any disagreements on this matter, the procedure for canceling the record of paternity on the basis of a court decision can be carried out in a simplified manner.
• When the person who appears in the documentation as the father, the actual father and mother do not object to changes in the record of the child’s paternity, then resolving this problem will be simple and painless.
• Within 5 days from the date of receipt of the claim in court, the judge is obliged to consider the issue of accepting it into court proceedings.

07/29/2022 — Valeria Egorova

I got married, my husband took over my Daughter! How to remove the child from him? He is not a biological father!

How to cancel the establishment of paternity of a child, what documents are needed for cancellation?

In legal practice, there are situations when there is a desire or need to cancel paternity.

This happens when the father of a child, after a divorce, doubts his biological paternity, does not fulfill parental responsibilities, or one of the parents commits actions that threaten the health and life of the child.

Before starting the procedure, you should think carefully about your actions and take into account the interests of the children. The legislation of the Russian Federation does not allow one to voluntarily refuse to fulfill parental responsibilities or stop providing financial support to children.

In what cases can paternity be revoked, and who can initiate this process?

Such circumstances may be being on a long business trip, prison at the time of the alleged conception, confirmation of a forensic examination of infertility.

The court takes into account the results of a genetic examination, which with almost one hundred percent probability helps to establish a relationship.

How to cancel paternity if the child is not from the husband? Cancellation of a registered entry is initiated in the following cases:

• deprivation of parental rights due to the father's unworthy behavior;
• consent to register a child under pressure;
• parental incapacity;
• doubts about biological relationship;
• possible adoption of the child by third parties;
• the appearance of a real father.

The following have the right to file a claim in court to cancel the establishment of paternity:

• actual parents;
• adult children;
• parents indicated on the birth certificate;
• prosecutor, representatives of the commission on juvenile affairs;
• guardians of incapacitated or minor parents.

Procedure for annulment of paternity, necessary documents to submit to court

According to clause 3 of Article 47 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the exclusion of civil status records, incl. about the birth of a child, is carried out only on the basis of a court order. This category of cases has no statute of limitations.

Initiation of the revocation of paternity begins with the filing of a corresponding application to the court. This can be done at any time after the baby is born. The claim is drawn up in writing in accordance with the norms of civil procedure legislation. Contents of the application to the court:

• name of the court;
• plaintiff's details;
• description of the violation of rights and requirements;
• facts, evidence, laws referred to by the applicant;
• reference to pre-trial appeal to the defendant;
• list of attached documents.

The following are submitted along with the claim:

• copies of parents' passports;
• a copy of the child's birth certificate;
• marriage or divorce certificate;
• receipt of payment of state duty;
• written witness statements, certificates confirming the eligibility of the claims.

If the defendant does not agree with the requirements, he can file a lawsuit to withdraw the claim. The judge has 5 days from the date of receipt of the documents to consider the application and make a decision on the commencement of proceedings in the case.

In what cases will the court refuse to annul paternity?

The right to revoke paternity in court may be limited if:

• at the time of entering information into the birth certificate, the man knew that he was not the biological father;
• there is written consent to carry out artificial insemination or embryo implantation;
• the surrogate mother confirmed her consent to voluntary separation from the child.

To file a claim to revoke paternity during artificial insemination, written permission from both spouses will be required. An application to the court will not be accepted if the plaintiff does not belong to the category of citizens entitled to do so.

There are frequent cases of attempts to cancel paternity in order to evade parental obligations. The laws of the Russian Federation primarily protect the rights of the child.

To initiate the procedure for canceling kinship, you need to provide the court with significant evidence, supported by the results of a forensic examination, testimony of witnesses, certificates, video recordings and other documents.

On what grounds is it possible to challenge paternity and cancel alimony, and how is this done?

Often a conflict arises between a man and a woman regarding the establishment of family ties with a child. This issue is especially acute when it comes to cash payments for a baby.

The father refuses to fulfill his duties because he believes that the child was born from another man. Such a controversial issue can be resolved by conducting a procedure for challenging paternity in court. We will tell you how to do this correctly below.

Dear readers! Our articles talk about typical ways to resolve legal issues, but each case is unique.  

If you want to find out how to solve your particular problem, please use the online consultant form on the right or call +7 (499) 938-46-18. It's fast and free!

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Grounds and requirements

The possibility of challenging the fact of paternity (maternity) in court is prescribed in Art. 52 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation (RF IC). Such a procedure can only be carried out in court.

Its essence lies in the fact that a person who does not agree with the established family ties with the child applies to a judicial authority to challenge them and, as a result, cancel all relevant entries in the documents.

In court, a procedure can be carried out to challenge both paternity and maternity, but, as a rule, the latter case is extremely rare. When establishing maternity, it is almost impossible to register a woman who is not the child’s natural mother. The following may submit an application to a judicial authority to challenge paternity:

• a man and woman who are officially the father and mother of the child;
• actual parents of the child;
• the child himself, if he has reached the age of majority;
• legal representative of the child (guardian, adoptive father or mother).

As a rule, people go to court to challenge paternity if:

1. A man who entered into a marriage relationship with a woman, at the birth of a child in their family, in accordance with Article 48 of the RF IC, was entered as the father in the birth certificate, even if the biological father is another man.
2. The biological father expressed a desire to establish the fact of his paternity in relation to the child, on whose birth certificate another person is recorded, or there is no record.
3. A man who has not entered into an official marriage relationship with a woman, but has established paternity in the registry office in relation to a child born to her, whose father he is not.
4. A person interested in establishing the absence of family ties (adult child, guardian, mother) with a man who is recorded in documents as the father.

Note! There is no statute of limitations for claims challenging family ties with a child.

This means that the person entered in the documents as the father of the child can at any time, at his own request, challenge this fact, if he is not the blood parent.

When a man finds out that the father of the child is another person, it is absolutely irrelevant for going to court.

The legislation also establishes cases when it is impossible to challenge the fact of paternity (Article 52 of the RF IC):

• The man voluntarily admitted that he was the father of the child, about which a corresponding entry was made in the documents in the registry office, knowing that he is not the biological father of the baby. If a man who voluntarily recognized the fact of paternity decides in the future to go to court to challenge it, he will need provide evidence that he gave his consent without having information about the real biological father of the child.
• The child was born through artificial insemination or embryo implantation, and such medical procedures were carried out on the basis of the written consent of the man and woman.
• A person filing a claim to challenge paternity does not have the procedural right to do so.

The procedure for challenging paternity can be significantly complicated by the absence of the mother, deprivation of her parental rights, or the presence of a serious illness that makes her incapacitated.

In such cases, a child who does not actually have parents is placed under the control of the guardianship and trusteeship authorities to determine his future fate.

The child may be sent to an orphanage, he may have a guardian, or people who are ready to formalize adoption.

Procedure and rules of procedure

To challenge paternity, you need to go through the following steps:

1. The applicant files a claim in the district court.
2. Appeal to the civil registry office to cancel the relationship record in the documents, if at the court hearing a decision was made to refute the fact of paternity.

The applicant must prepare the following package of documents to apply to the judicial authority:

• lawsuit;
• a copy of the child's birth certificate;
• other documents that play an important role in the consideration of the case (marriage certificate, medical documents confirming the results of a genetic examination, etc.);
• receipt for payment of state duty (Article 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Particular attention should be paid to drafting the statement of claim, since if there are errors in this document, the court will not accept it for consideration.

The claim is drawn up taking into account the requirements set out in Art. 131 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation (Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation). The document must indicate:

1. full name of the judicial authority;
2. information about the applicant/respondent (full name, address, telephone);
3. information about other persons related to the case and taking part in the court hearing;
4. circumstances of the case and evidence in favor of the plaintiff;
5. petitions (for example, for a medical examination to establish paternity);
6. the applicant's demands to challenge the fact of paternity, cancel the relevant entries in the documents, as well as cancel alimony;
7. list of documents attached to the case;
8. date of filing the application and personal signature of the applicant.

When all the documents are prepared, the plaintiff applies to the district court with a complete package of documents. A legal representative may act as a plaintiff. The claim is filed in person at the office, or by sending it by mail.

Documents received at the court office are reviewed for 5 days , after which a decision is made on their acceptance and the start of judicial proceedings, or on their rejection (Article 133 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Article 133 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. Acceptance of the claim

The judge, within five days from the date of receipt of the statement of claim in court, is obliged to consider the issue of its acceptance for court proceedings. The judge issues a ruling on the acceptance of the application for court proceedings, on the basis of which a civil case is initiated in the court of first instance.

After receiving the documents, the parties are sent summonses indicating the date of the scheduled court hearing.

As a rule, several meetings are required to make a final decision in a case , at which all parties to the case must be present.

If the father is absent, the child is usually given the mother's surname.

When new information about the father is entered into the documents, the child is issued a new birth certificate with changed data. In order to make changes to the civil registry office, the plaintiff, whose application was granted in court, must apply with the following list of documents:

• the child’s previously received birth certificate, as well as his passport, if available;
• a court decision challenging paternity that has entered into legal force;
• parent’s passport, data about which must be excluded from the documents;
• if the biological father was established in court, then you must provide his passport to make a record of paternity (more information about how to prove paternity and apply for alimony can be found here, and what is a statement of claim to establish paternity and collect alimony, you can read in this material);
• receipt for payment of state duty.

Responsible employees of the registry office review the entire list of documents, after which the child is issued a new birth certificate.

Cancellation and possibility of refund of payments

Obligations to pay alimony will be lifted from the payer only if his claim to challenge paternity is satisfied at the court hearing.

Important! In some cases, if the biological father has not been identified, and there is no one to take care of the child except the mother, then the court may decide to pay child support by the father, who in fact has no blood relationship with him.

Cancellation of assigned alimony obligations can only be done in court.

This means that an applicant who has already challenged paternity in court will receive a court decision, which will also display a clause canceling child support obligations.

With this document, he needs to contact the bailiff service or his employer to cancel the collection of funds.

Even if, during the consideration of the case, it turned out that the parent had previously paid alimony without legal grounds, he will not be able to return the collected funds (Article 116 of the RF IC). But there are some exceptions; paid alimony can be returned in such cases:

• the decision to collect alimony payments is canceled because the recipient provided the court with false information and documents;
• the alimony agreement was canceled because it was not concluded on a voluntary basis;
• alimony was collected on the basis of forged documents (court decision, agreement, writ of execution).

It is impossible to re-challenge paternity and demand the return of funds paid as alimony if such an appeal has already been made and it was refused.

The situations between spouses may be different, but in any case, all conflicts affect the children, their moral and financial situation. But sometimes the other side of the matter can suffer. The mother of the child, in order not to be left without financial support, can fraudulently collect alimony payments for the child from a person who has nothing to do with his birth.

The procedure for challenging paternity, carried out in court, helps to avoid the unlawful imposition of obligations on the parent to provide for the child.

Useful video

From the video you will learn how to cancel a court decision on alimony when challenging paternity:

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Challenging paternity: is it necessary to pay child support for a stepchild?

Family disputes about alimony and paternity are the main focus of many family lawyers.

If you are faced with the news that the child for whom you are paying child support is not your own, then most likely you will want to file a claim to challenge paternity.

In addition, alimony payers who find out that they are not the children’s natural fathers decide to cancel payments and receive a refund of alimony.

So, today we will look at cases when the payer doubts his paternity, and we will suggest an action plan when alimony is paid:

Let us immediately note the main nuance specified in paragraph 1 of Article 52 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation:

There is no statute of limitations for challenging paternity.

Legal parents of the child

All parental rights and responsibilities described in the Family Code of the Russian Federation. However, only the legal parents or guardians indicated in the child’s documents can be forced to comply with them.

And if everything is clear with the child’s mother: an entry about her is entered into the birth certificate automatically, if she does not abandon the child in the maternity hospital, then the father will have to go through a number of procedures at the regional registry office.

You can make a record of paternity in a special record book in the following situations:

• When a child is born in a legal marriage within 300 days from the date of its dissolution (as a rule, the mother’s husband is recognized as the father automatically during the marriage - “presumption of paternity”);
• At the birth of a child in a civil marriage, with the consent of the father;
• When a child is born to a mother who is not in a permanent relationship, information about the father is filled out at her request (the child’s last name is indicated by the mother’s last name, and the first and patronymic is optional).

Either his mother or both parents can register a child with the civil registry office.

Challenging paternity of a child born in marriage in court

• Challenging paternity (cancelling the corresponding entry in the registry office) is a fairly serious step, and therefore the state has tried to provide for absolutely all life situations when such a situation may arise in order to maximally protect the interests of the child.
• An entry in the civil registry book can be annulled (challenged) only if there is an appropriate court decision (clause 3, article 47 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).
• As we have already mentioned, there is no statute of limitations for challenging paternity, and therefore the father of a child who doubts his paternity has no time limit to file a claim in court.
• In the statement of claim, the father may indicate the following requirements, which the law allows for consideration in court:

• Cancellation of paternity with further removal of the plaintiff’s name from the “father” column in the child’s birth certificate, in accordance with Article 51 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation;
• An indication in the child’s documents of the transfer of parental rights to another person, if there are no disputes on this issue between the parties to the case. For example, the transfer of paternity rights to the new husband of the ex-wife or to another person who agreed to adoption.

The trial will be based not only on the above articles of the Family Code, but also separately on Article 57 of the RF IC. It talks about the rights of children to express personal opinions. This is especially true for children over 7 years old, who already understand adult proceedings, and who are able to determine for themselves which dad they are better with.

How to challenge paternity of a child born in a civil marriage?

It is not for nothing that we have highlighted this issue as a separate paragraph, since the judicial process in this situation has a special procedure for consideration and decision-making.

As a rule, for children born out of wedlock or in a civil marriage, there are three options for the development of events:

• Voluntary and joint entry of the father’s name into the birth certificate with the participation of both parents (Article 52 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation);
• Compulsory establishment of paternity in court;
• Mother's refusal to register father because of desire to receive government benefits.

Only the first option is important to us, when there is actually a possibility that a citizen may be deceived about his paternity, which will subsequently force him to pay child support to his stepchild.

However, let us immediately point out the main nuance that prevents paternity from being contested:

1. Don’t waste your time, call us, our telephone consultation is free, right now you will get answers to your questions!
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A man who voluntarily agreed to enter his name in the “father” column, and who knew at the time of registration of data in the registry office that the child was not his own, cannot challenge paternity in court (according to the provisions of Article 52 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation).

The basis for introducing such a restriction was the conscious desire of a man to become a father for someone else’s baby. This means that he understood all the responsibility and cannot be considered deceived by the child’s mother. Thus, he will be able to protect his rights, since they have not been infringed.

However, men do not always voluntarily agree to establish paternity of their stepchild, as stated in Article 52 of the RF IC. Therefore, they can file a claim to challenge paternity if their rights have been violated. For example, if they agreed to have their name included:

• Under psychological pressure;
• Due to a threat to their life or health, as well as threats to their loved ones;
• If the man was incapacitated at that time and was not aware of his actions, i.e. could not sensibly resolve such issues.

What evidence can you use?

The best decision for a man planning to file a paternity challenge is to collect all the necessary evidence in advance. As a rule, court proceedings in which issues of establishing or denying paternity are considered may allow the following evidence (Article 86 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation):

• The conclusion of the medical commissions on the results of the genetic examination to establish the relationship between the applicant and the child;
• Personal correspondence: letters, notes, emails and personal messages on social networks, incl. comments to personal photographs, where conversations will record the confession of the mother or her close relatives that the child was born from another person;
• Documents (photos, videos, receipts, transport tickets) confirming that the applicant has not lived with the child’s mother for a long time and did not help financially during pregnancy or while raising the child. In addition, it is advisable to find evidence of the presence of another man in the life of both the child and his mother;
• Testimony of witnesses, which will provide information about the relationship of the child’s mother with another man, which already gives the applicant reason to doubt paternity.

Is it possible to cancel alimony and return funds already paid?

Unfortunately, in almost 90% of cases when a man files a claim to contest paternity, a man is driven by property and financial interests. Namely,

Having disputed paternity and removed his name from the child’s birth certificate, the man seeks to cancel child support, and in some cases, return money previously paid.

Indeed, when a paternity record is annulled in the registry office, a man receives the right to demand:

1. Cancellation of alimony;
2. Refund of alimony for the past period.

However, the second requirement according to the law cannot be satisfied, and therefore the return of alimony for the past period is impossible (Article 116 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation) unless it is proven that the claimant deliberately hid information about paternity. In this case, you can return alimony for the past three years in full. In addition, you can return the overpayment of alimony at the time of the court decision to cancel alimony.

The return of alimony is made only at the expense of the guilty person, and cannot in any way affect the financial situation of the minor child.

Despite the challenge of paternity and the presence of a negative DNA test result, alimony is canceled only from the moment a court decision is made. Until this point, the applicant continues to pay alimony on time and in full.

If before the start of the court hearing the payer has arrears in payments, the judge may regard this as a deliberate evasion of alimony and determine the appropriate penalty.

Sample claim to challenge paternity and basic requirements for filling out

You can download a standard sample of a claim to challenge paternity of a child born in a legal marriage, according to the requirements of 2017, at this address.

Please note that Russian legislation is constantly changing and the information we write may become outdated. In order to resolve a question you have regarding Family Law, you can contact the site’s lawyers for a free consultation.