Paternity fraud is once again in the news, as the state of Tennessee is on the brink of becoming a trend-setter state with proposed legislation that would allow for the disestablishment of parentage.

Paternity fraud is the popular name for the situation where a man is “duped” into fatherhood for a child that is not biologically related. The big issue with paternity fraud is that a man is forced to pay child support for these children even after DNA evidence proves that he is not the biological father. The majority of states rely on an English common law doctrine that creates a presumption of fatherhood when a child is born during a marriage or 300 days after divorce. The current purpose of this doctrine is to prevent the state welfare system from paying to support the child.