I found out the child I have raised for 21 months is not mine, do I have any rights to maintain my current custody situation?
Question Details:
I was with my ex and we had a baby boy. She assured me that he was mine and we signed a "Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity". We split after he was 8 months old and he has lived with me 5 days a week for the next 15 months. She took me to court to sue for child support and they told her she is not entitled to support since I have him 5 days a week. The next day she had a paternity test done using some man she apparently had cheated on me with. The results came back that the child was not mine and she took him from me. My lawyer says I have very little chance of doing anything.
Please, don't ask lawyers here to second-guess an attorney who is familiar with all of the facts of your case, because child custody cases are almost always very sensitive to the "details" that you mostly cannot, and should not, be posting in a forum like this. If you want a second opinion, which does make sense, you should consult with another attorney, in person, so that you can provide him or her with enough information to give you reliable advice.
There are cases where biological paternity gets disregarded in favor of an established "psychological parent." But I've never heard of that being done with a 2-year-old, although I won't tell you it's impossible.
