Statute of limitations for challenging paternity. How to challenge paternity in court: statement of claim from father or mother, DNA examination, alimony

The Constitution of the Russian Federation contains provisions that state that the family has an important role in raising a child and in his all-round development. The law stipulates the rights and responsibilities of parents.

However, in recent years, cases have become more frequent when a father or another person refuses to recognize a blood relationship with a child. Then the process of challenging paternity in court begins based on a statement prepared in advance by the parent.

Paternity can be challenged legally, on the basis of the Family Code (Article 52). This procedure is carried out only through the court, even if both parties accept the position of the disputing person.

Persons noted on the child’s birth certificate and persons who are his blood parents, who for some reason do not have this status, have the right to submit a claim filled with important information to the judicial structure.

Also, the child himself can act as a plaintiff (provided that he has reached the age of majority).

A man who has lost paternity by a court decision loses official contact with the minor and is released from all responsibilities towards him, including the right not to pay any alimony payments to the child’s mother.

The procedure for judicially challenging paternity is a complex legal action, as a result of which the court removes the status of father from an individual in order to delete the record of paternity in the official document of birth in the registry office.

The procedure for challenging maternity is carried out very rarely, since a woman is assigned the status of mother upon birth.

The following persons have the opportunity to initiate a challenge process in court:

1. Persons registered in the registry office as a parent.
2. Citizens who are blood parents.
3. Children who have already reached the age of eighteen.
4. Official representatives of the minor (persons who have adopted the child).

From the experience of judicial practice, it is known that such cases take a long time to be considered, since they concern the interests of children and indirectly affect their future.

To initiate a trial, you need to collect a number of certain documents and file a claim to officially challenge paternity in the territorial (i.e., district) court.

If the claim is satisfied, information is provided to the registry office to amend the offspring’s birth document.

The need to renounce the status of a father arises in the following cases:

1. A man who was married to a woman was “by default” (RF RF Article 48) included as a parent in the birth document, without actually being the biological father.
2. The blood father of a child who does not want to agree with the fact that another person is included in the birth document of his child.
3. A man who does not have a marriage registration with his mother, but who voluntarily adopted a step-child.
4. Interested persons (mother, adoptive parent, trustee, child himself) who wish to renounce official relations with a man who, in fact, is not the father.

According to Article 52 of the RF IC, it is not enough for a man who has decided to renounce paternity to have evidence that he is not the father.

The law provides certain reasons why a judge will refuse to challenge even a non-blood parent.

Consider these reasons:

1. If the baby was born through artificial insemination or carried by a surrogate mother. At the same time, the parents gave official consent to the medical procedure.
2. If a citizen who wishes to file this type of claim does not have the right to resort to such actions.

Is it possible to challenge paternity, provided that the parent has previously voluntarily acknowledged it?

Voluntary acknowledgment of paternity is also a valid reason for refusing to challenge paternity.

In this situation, the plaintiff will have to prove to the court that the adoption was involuntary or with aggravating circumstances.

A refusal to challenge paternity may occur in a situation where the child’s mother, at the time of the trial, received a Group 1 disability, lost parental rights, or went missing.

In cases where the mother cannot support and raise her offspring, the court does not satisfy the position of the parent, so as not to make the child an orphan. The fact of orphanhood will be the reason for transferring the minor to the guardianship authorities.

Refusal of paternity in court after a statement prepared by the father - step-by-step instructions

The procedure for removing a parent’s name from a child’s birth certificate is carried out only after the court allows this to be done. Let us consider in detail the step-by-step instructions for renouncing paternity.

For the trial you will need the following documents:

• a claim to challenge paternity;
• document confirming the birth of the child (original and copy);
• payment document for payment of state duty. Payment is made on the basis of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 333.19, clause 1, clause 3, the payment amount in 2020 is 300 rubles;
• an evidence base that fully confirms that the person recorded as the father is not the child’s biological father.

Evidence may include confirmations from both parties, testimony from a third party, written evidence, some things, records on electronic media, laboratory test reports.

Based on the results of the examinations, you can find out the approximate time of conception and the plaintiff’s ability to have a child.

The examination also examines medical documents. This could be: a pregnancy record, a history of the birth process, a medical record of the newborn baby.

A claim with relevant documentation is filed in the city court. The parties take part in the trial.

Filing a claim is always carried out on the basis of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, Article 28, Article 29. The application is submitted to the city (district) court. A request for a desire to conduct an examination and its results are attached to the application.

There are cases when the other party avoids participation in laboratory research in every possible way, does not give the opportunity to take samples of materials for study, does not provide the required documents, as a result of which the examination becomes an impossible task.

Then the court will have to make a decision on the facts presented earlier. When rendering a verdict, the court takes into account who avoided the examination and what significance it would have had for the draft dodger.

Based on the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, Article 79, part 3 and Resolution No. 16, paragraph 21, the court decides to satisfy the fact of paternity or refute it.

If the claim for renunciation of paternity is satisfied in court, then in the final part of the court decision it is noted which data in the birth certificate is invalid.

All information about the registry office that made the entry in the document is indicated, the time of entering the data is indicated, the names of the parents are indicated, and it is also noted what amendments need to be made to the certificate.

The required documentation for renunciation of paternity is prepared and presented to the registry office.

Changes to the entry in the birth document are carried out on the basis of Federal Law No. 143 of November 15, 1997. A statement is written to the registry office demanding that the record of paternity be corrected.

To complete this procedure, the following documents will be required from the applicant:

• official identification document;
• a certificate confirming the fact of the birth of an offspring;
• a payment document confirming payment of the state duty; in 2020, this amount is 650 rubles (Tax Code of the Russian Federation, Art. 333.26, clause 1, clause 5).

Correction of the record of paternity will be carried out by the registry office, which stores information about the registration of the child, or the registry office related to the place of his residence.

Corrections regarding the annulment of paternity in the official birth document are made within one month based on an application from the parent.

There are valid situations when the head of the registry office extends the time for consideration of the application to two months on the basis of Federal Law No. 143, Article 72, paragraph 1.

The paper must be submitted by a specific interested citizen who has legal authority to the district (or city) court within the territorial unit to which the defendant citizen’s residential address belongs.

Judicial practice suggests that often the child’s father himself is the plaintiff in such a matter..

He can either be stepfather (and therefore contest paternity) or biological (and therefore he can sue the stepfather raising his natural offspring).

Most often, either the mother or the person identified in the documents as the natural biological parent acts as the defendant.

The procedure for challenging paternity can take place at any time. This issue has no statute of limitations.

That is, a claim can be filed in court until the child reaches the age of majority (but in this case it will be necessary to ask the child for his consent).

A claim to challenge the fact of existing paternity should be drawn up in accordance with the requirements specified in Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation.

The document must reflect:

1. 1. Full name of the court;
   2. All information about the citizen-plaintiff and full information about the defendant (you will have to indicate the full name of each party, their registered address, telephone numbers at which it will be possible to reach the defendant and the plaintiff).

1. Information about third parties, if any are involved in legal proceedings. Such persons may include employees of the registry office, the father of the child according to official papers, whose paternity will be questioned in court.
2. Information about the representative (provided that a claim is filed by agreement).
3. Information that reveals all the important circumstances of the case by providing all available official evidence in favor of the plaintiff citizen (this may be testimony of witnesses, letters of varying content, as well as photographic materials, video archives, results of an official genetic examination).
4. Petitions (for example, to call citizen witnesses, to order an official genetic examination). For your information! If the court has filed a petition for the need for an official genetic examination, and the person does not want to undergo it voluntarily, this refusal is regarded in favor of the plaintiff who wished to carry out this procedure.
5. Requirements for the court are often a set of the following key points:
   • challenging the previously established fact of paternity;
   • exclusion of information about a citizen from the birth certificate of a child;
   • cancellation of alimony payments.
6. List of attached official documentation on the number of participants involved in the trial (you will need: copies of passports of each participant, a copy of the certificate confirming the fact of the birth of the offspring; copies of papers acting as a significant evidence base).
7. The date when the claim was filed by the plaintiff, the signature of the applicant.

In court, they carefully check all the proposed evidence and weigh the consequences of the decision made regarding the child.

It has already been said above that in order for the court to satisfy the denial of paternity, it will have to provide convincing evidence that a particular citizen is not the biological father of a particular citizen.

Against the background of various testimony, photos and video materials, the most accurate results of consanguinity are provided by genetic examination.

But the law allows it to be resorted to only with the voluntary consent of the parties. The court has no right to force parents to carry out such an examination.

Not only third parties, adoptive parents, guardians, registry office employees, biological fathers, but also children who have reached the age of ten can be involved in the consideration of the issue of a father’s renunciation of paternity.

Children aged 10 years and older have the right to express their opinion at a court hearing regarding challenging paternity. This situation may be considered if the child’s opinion will be important for the court’s verdict.

If the court takes the plaintiff's side and revokes his status as the father, then the official note on the plaintiff's paternity is removed from the birth certificate, and the name of the biological father is written in this place.

If during the trial the actual parent cannot be identified, then this line is not filled in in the document.

Judicial practice often encounters situations where the plaintiff in a statement of claim demands to change the child’s initials (last name and patronymic). In such cases, the court takes the man’s side and, at the request of the mother, makes the required changes.

As a rule, the child’s previous surname is changed to the mother’s surname if there is no information about the real father. The middle name is also recorded at the request of the mother.

According to the court's decision, the registry office issues a new birth certificate for the child with changed information about the father.

Practice proves that it is alimony that often becomes the reason for challenging actual paternity.

The main initiators are usually fathers who were previously ordered to pay alimony for children who turned out to be not related to them by blood.

After the claim to challenge paternity is satisfied, a clause on the complete cancellation of the obligation to pay alimony by the father whose child turned out to be not his own must be reflected.

After the return of alimony has been successfully completed when challenging paternity, the citizen will need to, after canceling the obligation to pay alimony, contact the bailiffs in order to finally relieve himself of the existing alimony burden.

Video: Challenging paternity (maternity)

Challenging paternity, as practice shows, most often becomes a rather unpleasant procedure for all participants. However, such lawsuits are not uncommon in law enforcement practice.

This is due to the need to establish or terminate legal relationships and, accordingly, the rights and obligations of the parent (or the person registered as the parent) and the child.

Based on the norms of Russian family law and the essence of the legal procedure itself, both paternity and maternity can be challenged in the courts. However, in judicial practice, maternity is disputed much less frequently, since the legal procedure for establishing maternity practically excludes the possibility of registering a woman as a mother if she in fact is not one.

As for establishing paternity, on the contrary, there are quite a lot of reasons for a citizen to be registered as the father of a child even in the absence of a biological relationship. Based on such grounds, possible cases of challenging paternity are determined.

When can paternity be challenged?

Challenging the fact of paternity, and, accordingly, the registry record containing the data of the new child and his father in the registry office record book, is allowed only when, for some reason, a citizen who is not the biological parent of this child was recorded as a parent.

The reasons for a man’s legal registration as the father of someone else’s child are different and depend on the presence or absence of a registered marital relationship with the child’s mother. Thus, if there is a formalized marriage relationship, the paternity of the spouse of the child’s mother is determined automatically when the registry office employees make an appropriate entry about paternity, without asking the consent of the man himself.

The second possible basis for establishing paternity of a person who is not actually the child’s parent is a citizen who is not in an official family relationship with the child’s mother. In the latter case, the procedural possibility of challenging the fact of paternity is determined by whether the man knew or did not know at the time of filing a voluntary application to the registry office about the actual absence of blood ties with someone else’s child.

In Russian judicial practice, there are usually three possible reasons for initiating a procedure to challenge paternity:

1. The actual father of the child, who wants to recognize his paternity, does not agree that the legal father of the child is considered to be another man recorded as a parent on the child’s birth certificate;
2. A man who, due to some circumstances, is registered as the father of a child, in fact is not one and demands in court to challenge paternity and exclude his data from the relevant registry record as the father of someone else’s child;
3. Other interested parties who, according to procedural rules, have the right to initiate a procedure for judicially challenging paternity (the child himself after reaching the age of majority, the mother or the child’s legal representative), wish to terminate the legal relationship between the child and the man who is registered as a parent, but who in reality is not one.

For claims involving challenging paternity, the statute of limitations does not apply. Consequently, submission of the relevant requirements submitted to the courts is possible at any time when the interested person wishes to change the vital record with the data of a citizen who is not in fact a parent. Appeal to the court is allowed regardless of the period when the man registered as the child’s parent learned about the absence of family ties with this child.

Family law has limited the right of interested parties to challenge paternity in the following situations:

• when the man registered as the child’s father was not in an official marital relationship with the child’s mother, but agreed to recognition of paternity voluntarily, knowing that he was not a parent. If a citizen who voluntarily recognized paternity in the registry office goes to court to challenge this fact, he must first prove to the judge that he learned about the absence of family ties with the child after committing a voluntary act of acknowledging paternity and submitting a corresponding application to the registry office;
• when the spouses have a child as a result of artificial insemination or embryo implantation, carried out with the written consent of both spouses for such medical actions;
• when an interested person wishes to challenge paternity after drawing up an act record on the basis of the birth of a child by a surrogate mother during medical implantation of the latter’s embryo, if the corresponding procedure was carried out with the consent of all three parties;
• when a person who wishes to make a corresponding claim does not have the procedural right to do so.

The legislator has granted such procedural authority to challenge paternity to a certain circle of persons:

• citizens officially registered as parents;
• persons who actually act as parents;
• to the child himself after reaching adulthood;
• the child's legal representative.

In all of the above situations, claims aimed at challenging paternity cannot be satisfied by the court, regardless of the circumstances of the case.

Procedure for challenging paternity

A requirement aimed at challenging paternity, excluding an entry about the plaintiff (defendant) from the civil registry office record of the birth of a child, and/or entering new data on the father (an entry by the father of another person), considered only by the court through the procedure of claim proceedings.

The registry office employees can change the father’s data only if they receive the appropriate court decision. Even if there are no disagreements between all interested parties (the child’s mother, the citizen, the registered father, and the actual father), changing existing vital records with the parents’ data is possible only if there is a positive court decision.

As a rule, the procedure for challenging paternity is quite complex from both a legal and moral point of view, and in practice it takes quite a long time. When considering a claim challenging paternity, the judge examines many facts and circumstances and, if necessary, orders examinations. The whole process is aimed as much as possible at not violating the interests of the child. Therefore, a positive decision is possible when the court has sufficient and reliable evidence of the absence of a family relationship between the child and the plaintiff (defendant).

To prove the absence of family ties between the child and the citizen officially registered as the father, all evidence permitted by law is used - witness testimony, written evidence, video and photographic materials, and other evidence.

The most accurate results are provided by genetic testing, which makes it possible to establish with the greatest certainty the fact of the absence or presence of family ties. Such an examination may be ordered at the request of the parties to the proceedings. However, even a judge does not have the right to force citizens to undergo such an examination in the absence of appropriate voluntary consent.

At the same time, if a possible father, who wants to refute his paternity, avoids conducting a genetic examination, the court has the right to recognize as valid the circumstances and arguments referred to during the proceedings by the opposite party, even if they could be refuted by the appropriate examination.

Third parties, for example, guardians, civil registry office employees, and the actual father of the child, may be involved in participation in legal proceedings that arise when challenging the paternity of a citizen. Involving a child in court proceedings is not an imperative requirement of law and is permissible after the child reaches ten years of age.

A child who has reached the age of ten has the right to express his opinion in court when resolving a case concerning a legal challenge of paternity, if this opinion may be important in determining the outcome of the trial.

If the claim demanding to challenge paternity is satisfied, the result of the proceedings is a positive court decision to exclude the previously made entry about the parent and to enter new information about the child’s father, if he is established during the proceedings. If the actual father of the child is not identified during the legal proceedings for some reason, and the claim challenging paternity is satisfied by the court, the record of the father is simply excluded from the corresponding registry record previously made by authorized persons at the birth of the child.

If the plaintiff also demanded in the lawsuit to change the personal data of the child, in particular, the patronymic, the judge decides on the issue of entering new data into the registration information about the child. In such situations, the rule of recording the surname of the child’s father (in the absence of paternity established by the court) using the surname of the mother is often applied. In the columns “name” and “patronymic” of the actually absent father of the child in the vital record, data can be recorded at the direction of the mother. In such situations, the child is most often assigned the mother’s surname.

After making changes about the father in the corresponding vital record, the child is issued a new, amended birth certificate.

Even if both parties - mother and father - agree on issues of paternity, it will have to be annulled through the court. The registry office itself does not have the right to correct the column. Therefore, you will have to go through all the hardships of litigation, petitions, etc.

The fact of the birth of a child is legalized by an entry in the birth certificate, which is issued by the registry office. It contains information about the parents, as well as the date, surname, first name and patronymic of the newborn. The grounds for making such an entry are:

• a medical certificate confirming that the mother is the parent of the child;
• marriage registration certificate between father and mother;
• a joint statement from the parents, if they did not live in a civil marriage;
• testimony of the mother (in this case, the newborn takes the surname of the parent, and the first and patronymic names indicated by her).

As you can see, a medical certificate confirming the relationship between father and child is not required to be included in the certificate. This is precisely what may become the reason for challenging paternity in the future. However, there are some nuances here too.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child has adopted a ban on voluntary abandonment of a child, so paternity can only be challenged in the courts. The entry in the birth certificate is canceled not by the registry office, but by a court order, which is justified by paragraph 1 of Article 52 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation. The article specifies: “The entry of parents in the birth register, made in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 51 of this Code, can only be challenged in court at the request of the person recorded as the father or mother of the child, or the person who is actually the father or the mother of the child, as well as the child himself upon reaching the age of majority, the guardian (trustee) of the child, the guardian of the parent recognized by the court as incompetent.” A statement of claim is used, which must be completed in accordance with all requirements. Thus, the statement of claim to challenge paternity must include:

• date of marriage between spouses;
• date of birth of the child;
• request to exclude the entry of paternity in the birth certificate;
• copies of birth certificate and marriage registration;
• information about payment of state duty.

If the court finds paternity invalid, the record is canceled. The mother, as the supporter of the child, is deprived of the right to receive alimony at her own expense, and the father is deprived of the right to care for himself in old age from the child.

Who has the right to file a claim to challenge paternity (maternity)?

Naturally, not all family members have the right to file a claim. The list of persons is provided below:

• the actual person recorded as the mother or father in the corresponding column of the birth certificate;
• a person who is in fact the child’s parent;
• child, upon reaching adulthood;
• the person appointed as the child's guardian;
• a person appointed as the guardian or conservator of a parent who has been declared incompetent.

There are cases where heirs go to court after the death of their father or mother. For example, when it is suspected that one of the family members is not a natural child of the parent. And he is another contender for the inheritance. Such situations are also provided for by law.

Is there a time limit for filing a claim to challenge paternity?

Judicial practice does not prevent paternity from being challenged after 3 years have passed from the moment the person learned of the invalidity of the entry in the certificate. However, you can file a claim from the birth of the child until he reaches adulthood. Challenging paternity is impossible if the child has died. In the event of the death of someone who was recorded as the father, the Family Code of the Russian Federation offers the following algorithm:

1. If someone who died before the birth of a child, his heirs have the right to challenge his paternity, provided that during his lifetime he submits to a notary a statement of non-recognition of his paternity.
2. If the one who is recorded as the child’s father died after he filed a claim to exclude his name as the father from the child’s birth certificate, the claim can be supported in court by his heirs.
3. If, for good reasons, a person did not know that the child’s father was registered and died, his heirs: wife, parents and children can challenge paternity.
4. The limitation period does not apply to the requirement to exclude a record of a person as the father of a child from the child’s birth certificate.”

When is a paternity challenge invalid?

Of course, there are also lawsuits not aimed at “the triumph of justice.” There are cases when challenging paternity is just an attempt to evade parental obligations. As stated in the RF IC, “parents are responsible for the upbringing and development of their children. They are obliged to take care of the health, physical, mental, spiritual and moral development of their children.” Situations where fathers try to evade paying alimony or raising their own children are not uncommon. Therefore, the legislation of the Russian Federation primarily protects children. To challenge paternity, you will have to provide real evidence, supported by third-party evidence, the results of medical examinations and, possibly, video documents.

Cases when challenging paternity is impossible:

• Situation 1. The father, citizen N, filed a claim for invalid paternity. In the past, his marriage with citizen N was not registered. However, at the time of the joint application, N knew that he was not the biological father of the child. In this case, the court will not satisfy the claim on the basis of the Family Code: “The request of the person recorded as the father of the child on the basis of paragraph 2 of Article 51 of this Code to challenge paternity cannot be satisfied if at the time of recording this person knew that he was not in fact the father of the child." However, if citizen N proves that the consent was signed under the influence of threats or in a state of intoxication, the court will have to accept a claim for consideration. If confirming circumstances are discovered, paternity is revoked;
• Situation 2. Citizen N, at the time of recording him in the “father” column on the birth certificate, knew that he was not the child’s blood father and had previously given consent to artificial insemination or embryo implantation. Based on the Family Code, Article 52 of which states: “A spouse who has given written consent in the manner prescribed by law to the use of artificial insemination or implantation of an embryo does not have the right to refer to these circumstances when challenging paternity. Spouses who consented to the implantation of an embryo into another woman, as well as the surrogate mother (part two of paragraph 4 of Article 51 of this Code) do not have the right to refer to these circumstances when challenging maternity and paternity after the parents have been recorded in the birth register." However, the following also happens : A woman tricks a man into signing an agreement. Moreover, the child is not the result of medical “intervention”, but of a relationship with another man. In this case, if there is evidence, the court is obliged to consider the claim. After all, there was a fact of misrepresentation and manipulation of facts.

How to challenge paternity?

If you have any doubts about paternity or have evidence of its invalidity, follow the below procedure for challenging paternity:

• submit a statement of claim to the district court with all the necessary list of attached copies of documents (at your place of residence);
• wait for the request for a medical examination. It is pronounced at a court hearing;
• The court has no right to force either the child or the father to undergo a medical examination. However, in case of evasion, the court can independently refute or admit the fact about which the examination was ordered. The decision is made depending on who (which party) evaded the procedure;
• If the court finds that the paternity record in the birth certificate is incorrect, prepare the necessary documents for correction. These include your passport, certificate, receipt of payment of state duty.

It is worth saying that medical examination and DNA analysis are not a 100% guarantee that paternity will be invalidated. It is necessary to provide other evidence - witnesses, video and audio recordings. During the trial, the responding party will have to prove the fact of paternity, but here it will be more difficult.

Consequences of challenging paternity

Challenging paternity does not go unnoticed for both parties. The consequences of revocation of paternity are as follows:

• deprivation of the rights of a child to support a parent in old age;
• deprivation of rights to child support;
• no need to take part in raising and providing for the child;
• change of surname and patronymic in the certificate.

Challenging paternity is a morally difficult process. Both for the child and for the parents. Be prepared for unexpected turns in judicial practice. Despite a clear list of conditions under which the annulment of paternity is considered possible or invalid, in practice things are more complicated. So, for example, it is difficult to release a father from previously collected alimony payments.

Difficult cases are those where a man legalized a relationship with a woman when she was already in the status of “pregnant” from another man. However, even here a claim to annul paternity can be accepted for consideration.

Challenging paternity means challenging the entry about the child's father that the civil registry office makes in the birth register.

The record of the child's father can only be challenged in court. You will have to go to court even when both persons recorded as the mother and father of the child agree to change the record about the father.

Note!

In cases of challenging paternity, taking into account the opinion of a child who has reached the age of ten years is mandatory ( Art. 57 RF IC; clause 9 Resolutions of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated May 16, 2017 N 16; clause 8 Review of judicial practice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 1 (2016)).

Only the following persons have the right to challenge paternity: the person registered as the father or mother of the child, or the person who is actually the father or mother of the child (biological parent), as well as the child himself upon reaching the age of majority, the guardian (trustee) of the child, the guardian of the parent recognized by the court incompetent. This right also belongs to a child under 18 years of age who has acquired full legal capacity as a result of emancipation or marriage (clause 1 of article 52 of the RF IC; clause 25 of Resolution No. 16).

If the child’s parents were not married at the time of his birth and the father’s record was made at the joint application of the child’s father and mother, at the request of the child’s father, or by court decision, and subsequently the child’s father intends to challenge his paternity, the following must be taken into account. If at the time of making the entry the child’s father knew that he was not in fact his father, the court will refuse to satisfy the request. In this case, the child's father will be able to challenge paternity only if he proves that he did not actually want to be recorded as the child's father. For example, that he filed an application to establish paternity under the influence of threats or violence, or in a state where he was not able to understand the meaning of his actions or manage them (clause 2 of article 52 of the RF IC; clause 27 of Resolution No. 16).

Step 1: Prepare your documents

To challenge paternity you will need:

• statement of claim to challenge paternity (Article 131 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation);
• a copy of the child's birth certificate;
• receipt of payment of state duty in the amount of 300 rubles. (Clause 3, Clause 1, Article 333.19 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation);
• evidence confirming that the person recorded as the child’s father is not his biological father (Article 55 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

Such evidence can be obtained from explanations of the parties and third parties, testimony of witnesses, written and material evidence, audio and video recordings, expert opinions (clause 19 of Resolution No. 16). With the help of examinations, the time of conception, the defendant’s ability to have children, and the presence (absence) of a family relationship with the child can be established. During the examination, medical documents can also be examined, for example, an individual card of a pregnant woman, a birth history, an individual card of a newborn.

Step 2. Apply to the district court with the claim and the documents attached to it and take part in court hearings

The claim is filed in the district court at the place of residence of the defendant (Article 28, Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation).

The court satisfies requests to order an examination or to include additional evidence during the hearing.

If a party evades participation in the examination, fails to provide the experts with the necessary materials and documents for the study, and in other cases, if, due to the circumstances of the case and without the participation of this party, the examination cannot be carried out, the court makes a decision on the basis of all previously presented evidence. In this case, the court, depending on which party evades the examination and what significance it has for it, has the right to recognize the fact for the clarification of which the examination was appointed as established or refuted (part 3 of article 79 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation; paragraph 21 of the Resolution N 16).

If the claim to challenge paternity is satisfied, the court makes an appropriate decision. In the operative part of the decision, the court indicates which entry is incorrect (which registry office body made it, the number and date of the entry, in relation to which persons it was made), what changes or corrections need to be made to it.

Step 3. Prepare the necessary documents to correct the paternity record and submit them to the registry office

The basis for making corrections and changes in civil status records is a court decision (Clause 1, Article 69 of the Law of November 15, 1997 N 143-FZ). In addition, you must attach an application for correction or change in the civil status record and the following documents:

• applicant's passport;
• child's birth certificate;
• a receipt for payment of state duty in the amount of 650 rubles. (Clause 5, Clause 1, Article 333.26 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

Documents must be submitted to the civil registry office at the place of residence or at the place where the child’s birth registration record is kept (clause 1, article 71 of Law No. 143-FZ).

The corrected certificate must be issued within one month from the date of submission of the application. If there are good reasons, the head of the civil registry office may increase the period for consideration of the application by no more than two months (Clause 1, Article 72 of Law No. 143-FZ).

According to Art. 52 of the RF IC, the mother, father or the child himself can initiate a procedure to challenge paternity in court. To do this, you need to properly prepare a statement of claim, you need to know the reasons for challenging, the deadlines and legal requirements.

Grounds for challenging paternity

After the birth of a child, marks appear in a special record book indicating information about the parents. Most often, men apply to challenge paternity for several reasons:

• Uncertainty about biological relationship with the child. Suspicions may arise if at the supposed moment of conception the spouse was on a business trip, and subsequently the dates of birth do not coincide;
• The man was recorded as the father of the child, but in fact he is not, which he became aware of after making an entry in the book. Challenging occurs when the spouse decides to apply for alimony: according to the law, to establish it, it is not necessary to have a biological relationship, but rather the presence of relevant information about the father in the book from the registry office;
• The father himself wants to challenge the entry in the book if another man is listed as the parent.

Expert commentary

Gorchakov Vladimir

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Women also have the opportunity to contest. This usually happens when they want to include information about another father in the book.

Let's consider a typical situation:

Milchenko S.V. got married in 2013. A year later, the couple had a child, but subsequently the couple divorced, and the actual father did not take any part in the upbringing and maintenance of his son. She did not request alimony. In 2016, Milchenko S.V. remarried to another person who is the biological father of the child. This required challenging paternity.

If the child himself applies for a challenge, this is done for the following reasons:

• Personal animosity. Upon reaching adulthood, children can cancel the entry in the book if the father has not taken any part in their life up to that point;
• Attempt. This happens if a man previously paid alimony for his maintenance, but subsequently lost his ability to work and requires retaliatory action from him. Child support payments to parents are assigned only if they themselves have previously fulfilled this obligation. Annulment of paternity is carried out when the claimant himself is not the biological father, but here the judicial practice on the abolition of alimony is ambiguous.

Important! If a man knew in advance that there was no biological relationship with the child at the time of making an entry in the book, but subsequently decided to challenge this, his claim will not be satisfied.

The same applies to spouses who have given written consent to implantation of an embryo during artificial insemination, as well as surrogate mothers.

Procedure for challenging paternity

The procedure for challenging paternity consists of several stages:

1. Preparation of a statement of claim.
2. Collection and presentation of evidence.
3. Participation in court hearings.
4. Obtaining a court decision.

Expert commentary

Kolesnikova Anna

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Everything may take several months, so it is recommended to prepare evidence in advance and include in the list the maximum number of documents that can be accepted for consideration by the court.

What evidence is needed?

The following will be required as evidence:

• Results of genetic testing. They are needed when the defendant does not agree to voluntarily renounce paternity. The examination is ordered by the court. DNA tests are the most reliable and, if they show a negative result, this is grounds for canceling the entry in the registry office book;
• Often the mother refuses to bring the child for the examination, or the man himself refuses to undergo it. This is the basis for satisfying the plaintiff’s demands (Article 79 of the Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation);
• Medical report on infertility. Relevant for men who knew in advance that they could not have children for medical reasons. The document is controversial because This diagnosis is given to almost everyone who has problems conceiving, and subsequently these people still become parents. The court does not take it into account as the main one, but it can be used for additional evidence;
• Testimony of witnesses, correspondence, audio and video recordings are also used in evidence.

Expert commentary

Kireev Maxim

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The best option is voluntary recognition of the plaintiff’s claims by the defendant. In this case, the court makes a decision without considering evidence.

How to file an application to challenge paternity

There is no unified form for a statement of claim to challenge, but it is recommended to download a sample in advance.

To fill it out you will need the following information:

• Name of the court, full name plaintiff and defendant;
• When the marriage was registered and dissolved;
• Full name, date of birth of the child;
• Registration number in the registry office;
• Reasons why paternity is disputed;
• Requirements to exclude an entry about the father in the registry office book;
• List of attached documents;
• Date of compilation and signature of the plaintiff.

The application must be accompanied by a receipt for payment of the state fee, a copy of the registration and divorce certificates, the child’s birth certificate, as well as evidence.

Where to contact

Consideration of cases challenging paternity is within the competence of district courts. The plaintiff must submit an application at the place of registration of the defendant.

Deadlines

The current legislation does not limit the time limits for challenging paternity. This means that parents can go to court at any time, even if many years have passed since the separation.

The exception is the issue of challenging paternity of children born before 1996. At this time, the RSFSR CoBS was in effect, according to which the terms were limited to one year from the moment it became known that there was no biological relationship. It is necessary to focus on this norm even now.

Is it possible to return child support after challenging paternity?

This topic worries many men who have challenged paternity if they previously paid alimony for the maintenance of a child that was not actually theirs. According to the law, payments cannot be returned, with the exception of several cases:

• It was established that in order to collect alimony, the claimant submitted false documents and information.
• The court annulled it and found that it was concluded under threats or violence.
• The decision to assign alimony or was subsequently found to be fraudulent.

In the above situations, the collection of previously paid alimony is made not from the child, but from the original claimant who received it for the minor.