Too late to debate
June 3, 2008
As I wrote in today’s paper, the Court of Special Appeals has held that a man who claimed to be the father of a child born during his marriage, despite evidence to the contrary — including his vasectomy — remains responsible for child support even after a paternity test proved otherwise.
The court reached this decision in part because the presumed father had waited almost 13 years to contest paternity. Citing the doctrine of laches, the court held that the man had “slept on his rights” by waiting for so long to claim the child was not his.
The court’s opinion mentions that other states have, by law, limited the time a presumed father can challenge paternity. The “small but growing number of states” include Colorado (within a reasonable time but no later than five years after the child’s birth); Delaware (no more than two years after the birth of the child); Illinois (within two years of obtaining “knowledge of relevant facts”); and Wyoming (no later than five years after the child’s birth), to name a few.
Do you think the intermediate court was trying to send a message to the General Assembly that Maryland should have a similar time limit on the books? Or do you think the doctrine of laches is clear enough to bar similar challenges?
CHRISTINA DORAN, Assistant Legal Affairs Editor
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