THE CLOCK IS TICKING  Sunday, July 6, 2008

Relationships are a matter of trust and if you have even the slightest doubt the biological mother has not been forthcoming, it can lead to problems in the future that will have a financial consequence. Many states have a statute of limitations in which an alleged biological father can request a DNA paternity test. After that period has expired, you are required to accept the responsibilities of parenthood, including child support, even if later DNA testing proves differently. Avon Alston, a truck driver from Franklin County, North Carolina, has literally been paying the price for 16 years because he took the biological mother's word for truth. He has twice tried to submit DNA test results proving he is not the biological father to the boy for whom he's paid child support all these years. North Carolina law requires DNA paternity testing to be done within the first 60 days a child is born. In Alston's case, the relationship with the biological mother was brief but he believed her and wanted "to do the right thing". Obtaining a DNA test before acknowledging paternity should have been Alston's first step.
[The News & Observer]
[Lawyers.com]