Oklahoma's Paternity Fraud Law: Can You Stop Paying Child Support for a Child Who Isn't Yours?

​For years, Oklahoma family lawyers had to give men some very bad news. If you were the legal father of a child, by marriage or by signing the acknowledgment of paternity at the hospital, and you did not challenge it by the time the child turned two, you were generally stuck. Even if DNA later showed the child was not yours. Even if you never had a reason to suspect anything. The law said you were the father, and you owed child support until the child grew up.

That changed on November 1, 2019, when the Oklahoma Legislature amended the Uniform Parentage Act to add an exception for fraud. If you are paying support for a child you have learned is not biologically yours, you need to understand this law.

THE TWO-YEAR RULE

Under Oklahoma's Uniform Parentage Act, a man can become a child's legal father in several ways. Two are the most common:

1. Presumed father. A man married to the mother when the child is born (or within 300 days before) is presumed to be the father. A man who lived with the child for the first two years and openly held the child out as his own can also be a presumed father. 10 O.S. § 7700-204.

2. Acknowledged father. When unmarried parents sign the Acknowledgment of Paternity, usually at the hospital, the man becomes the legal father, and that is how his name goes on the birth certificate. 10 O.S. §§ 7700-301 through 7700-305.

The general rule is that a challenge to a presumed father must be filed within two years of the child's birth. 10 O.S. § 7700-607(A). A challenge to a signed acknowledgment generally must be based on fraud, duress, or material mistake of fact and filed within two years after it was signed. 10 O.S. § 7700-308.

Once those deadlines passed, the father-child relationship was usually locked in, often for good, regardless of what a DNA test showed.

THE 2019 CHANGE: THE FRAUD EXCEPTION

House Bill 2270, effective November 1, 2019, added subsection D to 10 O.S. § 7700-607. Under it, a presumed or acknowledged father (or another proper party) can challenge paternity on the basis of fraud at any time before the child turns 18.

This means a man can now challenge paternity of an 8-year-old, a 12-year-old, or even a 16-year-old child, which simply was not possible before.

WHAT COUNTS AS "FRAUD"?

The fraud has to fit the statutory definition in 10 O.S. § 7700-102: an intentional misrepresentation of fact that could not have been discovered with reasonable diligence and that was reasonably relied upon.

In plain English, that usually means:

- The mother (or someone) intentionally misled you about whether you were the father;
- You had no reasonable way to discover the truth sooner; and
- You reasonably relied on what you were told, for example by signing the acknowledgment or accepting the child as yours.

The burden is on you, and it is a high one. You must prove fraud by clear and convincing evidence. If you suspected the child might not be yours from the beginning and did nothing about it, expect the other side to argue you could have found out with "reasonable diligence."

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CASE

Proving fraud does not automatically end your paternity. The process generally looks like this:

1. You file the challenge and must prove fraud by clear and convincing evidence.

2. The court holds a "best interests" hearing to decide whether genetic testing should even be ordered. 10 O.S. § 7700-608. If the child is over two, the court must appoint a guardian ad litem to represent the child.

3. The court can refuse genetic testing if it finds testing is not in the child's best interests, or that the conduct of the mother or the legal father estops (prevents) them from denying parentage. Oklahoma courts have done exactly that. See In re A.S., 2020 OK CIV APP 23, 466 P.3d 619.

4. If testing is ordered and excludes you, the court can enter an order that you are not the father and may order the birth certificate amended.

THE MONEY: WHAT YOU GET BACK AND WHAT YOU DON'T

This is the part that frustrates a lot of men. Under § 7700-607(D):

- You pay for the genetic testing.
- You are not entitled to be reimbursed for child support or medical support you already paid.

What you can get is relief going forward. If you are disestablished as the father, your duty to pay future child support for that child ends. For a man paying support on a 14-year-old, that can still mean four years of payments he no longer owes.

Past-due support (arrears) that has already built up is a separate question. Talk to a lawyer about your specific situation before assuming any back support goes away.

IMPORTANT LIMITS

- The fraud exception applies to presumed and acknowledged fathers. If your paternity was established by a court order (for example, in a DHS child support case or a prior paternity case where a judge adjudicated you the father), different and stricter rules apply. Don't assume this statute covers you.
- The deadline is the child's 18th birthday. Once the child turns 18, this route is gone.
- These cases can involve the child's well-being, a guardian ad litem, DHS Child Support Services, and possibly the biological father. They are not simple, and the results are not guaranteed.

OTHER EXCEPTIONS TO THE TWO-YEAR RULE

Section 7700-607 also allows a challenge after two years in two other situations:

- When the presumed father and mother did not live together or have sexual relations during the time of conception, and the presumed father never openly held the child out as his own. § 7700-607(B).
- When the mother, the legal father, and the biological father all agree to have the biological father declared the legal father. § 7700-607(C).

TALK TO AN OKLAHOMA FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY

If you have DNA results or other evidence that a child you are supporting is not yours, the clock is running until that child's 18th birthday, and every month you wait is another month of support you will not get back.

Attorney Joel K. Mitchell has represented Oklahoma parents in paternity, custody, child support, and divorce cases for more than 25 years. Call or text (918) 230-5844 to talk about your situation.

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Every case is different. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship.