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
Sphere: Related Content-
Business
Business posts- Put your dukes up
- Who’s the big winner at Constellation’s Senior Players Championship?
- A recap of TechNite
- Slots groups make waves with radio ads
- Irony at an accident site
- Brian Wilson leaving Baltimore’s airwaves again
- GBTC hosts TechNite tomorrow
- Snyder a confirmed Top Chef contestant
- ‘All the comforts of home’ now include Wii
- Legislation up for vote
Law
Law postsRecent Posts
- Put your dukes up
- This week in Maryland Lawyer
- Law blog round-up
- Who’s the big winner at Constellation’s Senior Players Championship?
Recent Comments
- Tim: The kid was wrong! He either was not taught to respect others especially those in authority or he has rebelled...
- Richard Simon: If you would like to see a live video feed from Technite at the Baltimore Convention Center, go to...
- Kim: A typical root canal with a specialist will usually run a human from $1000 to $2000.
- publicus: Of course Congress should pass such a law. Without it, the freedom of speech in every country would be...
- neil helfrich: Barbara, Dana is Dan Moylan’s daughter not Charles Moylan”s daughter. BTW, the theory does...
On Commenting
We ask that our readers follow a few guidelines, noted below.Please do not post any personal attacks, profanity, spam or other advertisements — they will be removed. Also, please post using only one name or pseudonym, as this consistency helps establish a sense of community. We will delete posts if they are signed with different names but originate from the same IP or email address. And if you’re going to comment using a proper name, please make it your own. Deliberate misrepresentations will be removed.