Full question:
In 1994, I had relations with a woman who I later found out to have had relations with other men. She found out that she was pregnant and admonished me from being the father based on her weeks of pregnancy and date we fornicated. I entered the military later that year. She gave birth in May of 1995. She claimed that the father was another man. I attempted to persuade her to have a DNA test done but she refused. Four years went by and I received a call from this woman. She claimed that she and the alleged father had a DNA test which turned out that he was not the father. She automatically claimed that I was the father. Based on her previous behavior, I asked that she prove that I was prior to making any claims. In short, she made the call primarily to patch our relations not to settle paternity. Two months later, I was sent to Korea for one year and followed that with 3 years in Germany. In 2004, I came back state side. Now 10 years past our last conversation and she is still claiming that I am the father. She contacted my military leadership and claimed that I am the father and that she has tried to contact me for the past five years. Since returning stateside, I haven't received any communications from her prior to this. Am I obligated to take a paternity test? If paternity falls in my favor, will I be subjected to pay back child support? Can she claim that she was unable to find me based on me being in the military?
- Category: Paternity
- Date:
- State: North Dakota
Answer:
When a person is on active service it may be difficult to locate their whereabouts. One could contact the local armed services recruiting office, a former unit office, or the World Wide Military Locator Services to assist in locating the parent. When looking for the military parent it is necessary to know their full name and social security number.
Service of process on an installation is often centralized in order to control and monitor the presence of civilian law enforcement or other civilian authorities, and not disrupt the operations of the installation and its mission. The installation provost marshal or law enforcement section is the usual conduit. The military prohibits its commanders from serving civil process upon their personnel unless the individual agrees to accept the process voluntarily.
If service of process by mail is not allowed, a variety of alternative methods are available depending on the specific state and foreign law involved, including:
-Service by a Foreign Authority Pursuant to a Treaty or Convention
- Personal Service by a Foreign Agent (Foreign Attorney or Process Server)
-Voluntary Acceptance of Service
-Service by a Letter of Request (Letters Rogatory) to a Foreign Authority
A Letter of Request (or Letter Rogatory) is a request from a court in the United States to a court in a foreign country requesting assistance in obtaining evidence (covered in module 5), or in effecting service of process. A letter of request is particularly used in countries where no other method of service is available. Preparing letters of request can be a time-consuming, complicated, and frustrating process. Unless no alternative exists, a letter of request should be a last resort.
Patermity laws vary by state. The statute of limitations for bringing a paternity suit varies in each state. If a paternity suit is properly file,d it is possible you may be ordered by the court to take a paternity test. If you are found to be the father, the court may order child support payments to be made. Please see the state laws at the links below.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Legal statutes mentioned reflect the law at the time the content was written and may no longer be current. Always verify the latest version of the law before relying on it.
