Court denies unwed dad's parental rights claim

Child will be raised by its mother, her husband

April 8, 1998
Web posted at: 4:21 a.m. EDT (0821 GMT)

From CNN's Greg LaMotte

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- A man who fathers a child with a woman who is married to someone else may be denied all legal parental rights, according to a ruling by the California Supreme Court.

The decision came in the case of 41-year-old Jerome Krchmar of Riverside, Calif., who lived with a woman in 1995 who had seperated from her husband of six years. The woman became pregnant after living with Krchmar for one month, but returned to her husband three months later.

Krchmar filed suit before the baby was born to assert paternity. The woman claimed the baby was not Krchmar's and she refused to allow him to see the child.

When a Riverside County judge ruled Krchmar could attempt to prove his paternity through blood tests, the married couple appealed. The state supreme court sided with the couple, citing a provision of California law intended to bolster family stability.

California law presumes a child born to a married couple is generally the husband's child regardless of biology. In Krchmar's case, the court ruled, in a 5-2 vote, that since the mother was married when the child was conceived, and lived with her husband when it was born, that presumption stands.

"A man who fathers a child with a woman married to another man takes the risk that the child will be raised within that marriage and that he will be excluded from participation in the child's life," the court's opinion said.

The couple's attorney told CNN they were quite surprised the case had actually gone to the state supreme court, but not surprised by the ruling. Krchmar's lawyer said he has not decided if he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Related sites:

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• California Supreme Court
• Paternity Information Page

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