Posted on 05/03/2005 11:49:34 AM PDT by Antonello
A FRENCHMAN has won a ground-breaking ruling against his former wife and her lover, ordering them to pay back the money that he had spent on bringing up a child he had mistakenly assumed to be his own.
The man, named as G in the ruling, was awarded 23,000 (£15,600) after a DNA test revealed that he was not the father of the 13-year-old child, Astrid.
He had raised her as his own daughter, paying for her food, clothing, toys, schoolbooks and holidays, the Caen Appeal Court in Normandy said. It added that his former wife, B, from Cherbourg, had always had doubts about the identity of Astrids father: she was unsure whether it was her husband or her lover.
The judges said that she had committed a fault by failing to tell her husband that she had been having an affair at the time of the conception and that she did not know whose daughter Astrid was.
The court denounced the lover, named as L, who suspected that Astrid might have been his child, but who also failed to air his suspicions.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
I would like to think I would have continued in supporting and loving her. If they divorced over it, of course, it would make matters more difficult concerning the child.
I do know it can be difficult for men in these situations. It can be hard to do the right thing, and your feelings don't always square with trying to treat the child as lovingly as you would as if it were your own.
I am sorry for your suffering. I hope you can keep supporting your daughter, who is truly innocent in the whole business. It must be very difficult.
I thought it was a presumption at law that all children born to a married woman are the children of the husband. This legal fiction serves a very important funtion.
Tangled, indeed. As for what support she is getting from the other guy, I am not sure. I cannot get anything resembling a straight answer out of my ex as to why she is doing this.
Our current support situation is zero-sum, as she and I each have custody of some of our children. I have no intentions of revisiting the issue to account for one of the ones living with her not being 'mine'. Since we live locally to each other, I still see all of them on a regular basis, and it is my desire to continue treating my daughter as I always have. I buy her gifts, include her in family outings to the movies and such, and if I see her shoes are a bit worn, I'll drag her into a shoe store for a new pair; just like always.
Time will tell what my crazy ex has in mind. All I can do is keep being me.
Did you read the whole article?
I'm sorry, I was laughing out loud after reading just this.
I'm sorry for your betrayal, but you are a good man to continue to love your daughter.
"pay back the money that he had spent on bringing up a child he had mistakenly assumed to be his own..."
I don't see how a Frenchman could make such an assumption.
In this country, the law holds that child support is not there to protect mothers or punish fathers. It's there to provide for children. There was a case, which I'll post if I can find it, where a father still had to pay child support, even after his wife admited an affair and a blood test proved the child was not his. It didn't matter. He still had to pay.
In related cases: a woman told a man she just wanted to get pregnant and raise a child herself, and that she wouldn't come to him for support. She admitted that in court, and he still had to pay.
Even if a man is raped (yes, it can happen), he is liable for child support.
This is hideously tacky and cruel to the child involved.
I really feel sorry for the poor kid.
Right!!! Money is much more important than the child's feelings.
That seems more of an assumption. The article doesn't seem to state one way or another what the father's relationship is nowwith his daughter, who I presume is now with the slut mother and her new husband.
I think the wronged husband was simply trying to express that his slut ex-wife and her pal deserve some sort of punitive action taken against them. He can still love "his daughter" and want to stick it to the cheating bitch, justifiably so.
what do you know the French actually got something RIGHT
I am surprised this does not happen more often.
Imagine if dna tests were mandatory in all divorce cases.
"I do feel for the girl in this article. Seems that she has two fathers but in reality, none."
I am sure the man she thought was her father is mad at her mother, not her. Why would he take it out on her?
At any rate, she is better off than many. Lots of kids don't even know of one father. She has her mother to blame, although being mad at her is probably pointless. She will be fine.
Exactly! The kid should be tough enough to deal with:
a. My father's not my real father. b. He's mad at my mom because he had to pay for my upbringing so he's demanding his money back. c. My mama's a slut. d. Some strange man I don't know is my 'real' dad.
Geez, if she jumps off a bridge, I wouldn't be surprised.
Naturally I'd begrudge the mother, not the daughter.
Oh, and I have French relatives. Not that I care what people think of that. Never did, never will.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.