Man requested a paternity test for a girl – the court refused
Only after being required to pay child support for an 8-year-old girl registered as his daughter, the man requested a tissue test. Although the mother agreed, the judge rejected the request for fear of harming the minor.
The Family Court in the Krayot recently rejected a man's request to conduct a paternity test for an 8-year-old girl registered as his daughter, despite the mother's consent. Judge Nir Zeituni adopted a social worker's report stating that it is better not to disrupt the world of the child, who believes the plaintiff—and not her mother's husband—is her biological father.
According to the plaintiff, he met the mother in 2017 and had a relationship with her that lasted about half a year. After they separated, she informed him she was pregnant, and in 2018 the girl was born. Today, the mother is married to another man. Over time, the plaintiff was registered as the minor's father, but he claims this was done under "duress and/or fraud." He filed his lawsuit for a genetic test only last March, after the mother demanded he pay child support.
He emphasized that there is no concern of mamzerut (illegitimacy), as it was a pregnancy resulting from a relationship between a single man and a divorcee, and raised a demand for a tissue test—which, surprisingly, received the mother's consent. However, a report submitted to the court recommended against conducting the test. It was argued that the girl knows the plaintiff as her biological father and her mother's husband as her father in practice, and that there is no justification for disrupting her world through a paternity test whose results could pointlessly turn things upside down for her.
According to the social worker, "the minor's best interest to preserve her identity outweighs the parent's right to know the biological truth." Judge Zeituni ordered the dismissal of the lawsuit, noting that while the consensus of the parties and the claim of duress might establish special circumstances, it was not proven that the need for the test outweighs the potential harm to the child. The ruling emphasized that conducting the genetic test could undermine the girl's clear picture of her identity and leave her without a registered father. Furthermore, the judge noted the plaintiff's long wait to initiate the proceeding, which suggests that establishing a relationship with the minor was not his priority. Consequently, the lawsuit was rejected.
