F&F: Holstein Weighs in on Craig v. Hodge Paternity Fraud Case in Nashville Tennessean

Paternity fraud is the one of the worst crimes.

It is hard to know what to do after this much time.

I believe mothers should have a legal obligation to disclose such paternity information at the time of birth, but I am not sure how to implement such a requirement. I also like the idea of mandatory paternity testing, but the cost is a concern as many couples cannot afford it and it is not fair for taxpayers to pay. Hopefully in time and with improved methods and technology the price will come down.

I also believe there should be a law that if a father does not seek paternity testing after two years, then he should be accepting legal responsibility for the child (same rule would apply to mothers as in cases of babies switched at birth or wrong egg used in artificial conception methods).

I really feel for this guy and his son. It seems to have destroyed the whole family and I assume there are grandparents and extended family that are all effected including the biological paternal family.

I agree that Paternity fraud is a terrible crime, but I don't agree with the arbitrary two year disclosure point you made.

I think the essence of Paternity fraud is quite similar to other crimes. Two people are in a situation, and one of them fails to disclose information that is essential to the other - in this case, the fact that the child 'may' not be theirs. Subsequently the other person suffers financial, emotional and possibly physical distress due to not being made aware of that fact.

Take two examples that are similar. Example 1: Man has sex with a woman who has aids. He doesn't get tested, but goes on to have a relationship with a second woman for several years. She eventually discovers the initial relationship, gets tested, and has to wait several months for the results. She suffers financial, emotional and possibly physical trauma.

Example 2: Male nurse removes tags from two babies as he washes them in a hospital, and realises he can't remember which is which. He puts the tags back on and 'hopes for the best'. Ten years later one of the mothers approaches him with a concern and he admits that he 'may have mixed them up'. DNA testing has to happen and several weeks go by whilst the parents agonise, suffering financial, emotional and possibly physical trauma, until they discover the babies were in fact swapped.

In both of these examples I am pretty sure the courts would offer fair recompense to both parents, in at least a civil action - and so they should. I don't see much difference in the case of paternity fraud.

It seems that often either the potential or the fact that the child is not his is withheld. As a result years or decades of pain, stress and financial cost are incurred. I don't believe it should be about repaying the child payments (and therefore punishing the child), it should be about recompensing an innocent party for the damages done by someone withholding pertinent information.

If I took out a mortgage and failed to tell the bank about huge debts I'd run up, and subsequently declared bankruptcy and the house couldn't be sold, the bank would have fair recompense in the courts for my failure to disclose. I believe that would also be true even if I thought there was just a 50% chance that those debts would catch up to me.

In cases such as this, sleeping with another man around the time of a pregnancy introduces a 50% chance (or juggle the numbers how you like) that the father is not the man you are staying with. Failure to disclose that fact and check paternity is a selfish act, driven by a desire to protect your relationship and income. I truly believe recompense is due, and it should be significant.