Paternity can be challenged in Colorado, and there are a number of reasons an individual might wish to do this. Either parent can make this challenge. When a woman who is married has a child, her husband is automatically listed on the birth certificate unless otherwise noted. However, the husband may not necessarily be the father, and this could lead to a paternity challenge.
A paternity challenge might also be made if lab results are tainted. While paternity testing has an accuracy rate higher than 99 percent if is done correctly, it is possible that a lab may mishandle samples, or samples could be tampered with. There could also be a fraud. For example, an individual might have someone else send in a sample in their place. Another reason to challenge paternity would arise if the individual believed to be a child's father turned out to be sterile. An individual must begin a paternity challenge by filing a complaint in court. The court will subsequently order DNA testing just as it would in the case of an initial paternity suit.
An example of a case in which an individual might want to challenge paternity would be a man who had a relationship with a woman who then married shortly after the end of that relationship. The woman might then have a child the man believes to be his even though her husband is listed as the father on the birth certificate.
In such a case, that man might wish to consult an attorney. If his paternity challenge turned out to be successful, there might then be issues to work out around support and visitation. An attorney might be helpful in negotiating those issues with the mother.
Source: Findlaw, "Challenging a Paternity ", November 25, 2014
Tags: DNA testing, Paternity, a paternity test
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