The Marital Presumption in Pennsylvania

Did you know that in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, a child born to a married woman is presumed the child of her husband?  In other words, your husband is the legal father of your child even if he is not the biological father of your child.  It doesn’t matter if you are separated, not living in the same house, or haven’t seen each other for 15 years.  When it comes to married couples in the Commonwealth of PA, the husband will always be the legal father of a child born to his wife.

What does that mean for me?

If you are the legal father but not the biological father, the mother can take you to court to pay child support.  You would then have to prove that you are not the biological father and therefore have no legal obligation to pay child support.

If you are the biological father but not the legal father, there are limits to what you can do for your child.  Typically, it is not an issue because places don’t ask if you are the legal father but there is nothing stopping the legal father from creating a headache because the courts have decided he is the legal father.

If you are the mother and want child support from the biological father, you first need to overcome the marital presumption.  Either the biological father has already proved he is the biological father and you have asked the courts to waive the marital presumption making the biological father the legal father of your child.  Otherwise, you will need to sue the child’s legal father (your husband) for child support and he will need to prove that he is not the child’s biological father.  Once that has been determined, you can sue the child’s biological father for child support.