Paternity
Proving Paternity
Can a married couple where the wife is not Jewish get permission for paternity testing for a child she bears ?
Paternity •Proving PaternityYes, providing the family court considers that testing would not be against the child’s good, and that no risk of illegitimacy would be involved. Where the husband and wife are Jewish, courts will not allow paternity testing because it would risk the child being labelled as a bastard , or ‘Mamzer’, in Jewish law.
My husband and I are both Jewish . I have filed him for child maintenance. He says that our child, who is five , is not his, but that of a Christian man with him I had a long affair with. He has threatened to expose all this by D.N.A. testing if I do not agree to reduce the amount claimed drastically. Would the court allow D.N.A. testing at this stage anyway ?
Paternity •Proving PaternityOne of the factors influencing the court in deciding whether to recommend D.N.A. testing to establish paternity is the ‘good of the child’ and the possible damage it may cause him/her. This is related to the stigma a child born to a married Jewish woman outside wedlock carries – that of being a bastard (‘mamzer’) or doubtful bastard (‘safek mamzer’).
Can tests to establish paternity be conducted abroad and will their results be acceptable in proceedings for paternity brought by the mother in Israel ?
Paternity •Proving PaternityCan paternity be proved by letters where the alleged father, who has been filed for child maintenance, is a foreign resident living abroad and he cannot or will not come to Israel to undergo medical tests to determine whether he is the father ?
Paternity •Proving PaternityYes, in exceptional circumstances.
I am single ,in my 30’’s and had an affair with a well-known person in our community. I got pregnant. He tried to pressurize me into having an abortion but I refused. He cut off all contact with me shortly afterwards saying a baby outside wedlock would endanger his reputation and marriage. Now I want to sue him for child maintenance for my baby but am worried that I will fail because I cannot prove he is the father. I know he won’t undergo any tests that could prove paternity – he refused to co-operate with any medical tests during my pregnancy which required samples from the ‘ father’. Can he still be declared the father and be made to support my child if he refuses paternity testing ?
Paternity •Proving Paternity
How can a single Moslem woman who gets pregnant by a Moslem man get financial support from him for her child ?
Paternity •Proving PaternityI am unmarried and due to give birth. I know who the father is but we are not in a relationship. I doubt if he will want to be registered as the ‘dad’ . Can I still get maintenance from him ?
Paternity •Proving PaternityA single female friend of mine is desperate to have a baby and has begged me to help her get pregnant. She said she promises not to say I’m the father or to sue me for financial support for the baby. Is this legal or would I be at risk of having to support the child ?
Paternity •Proving Paternity* We hope you find our website useful and easy to use. Please note, however, that the information provided on it is not a substitute for personal legal counselling which is available upon payment.