Every child should be able to know their biological parents, from their medical history to their family history. But not every child is able to get that chance. In the state of West Virginia, a woman can name any man that she has slept with in that time period and name him as the father, and unless that man requests a DNA within 60 days, or signs the birth certificate he is automatically that child’s father regardless of any lies or infidelity that are hidden by the mother. And most men do this because they have acknowledged sleeping with that woman. So, why would they ever question it, especially since he was never aware of her cheating, or sleeping with someone else prior to him because he never suspected it. When a person has trust in someone else, they are not going to question any infidelity, and if they did question the woman, regardless of what the DNA outcome would be, it could cause many relationship problems and so forth. The woman can easily keep any secrets hidden, of course, until the child's genetics start to show through. With today's technology it is not hard to establish questioned paternity. So, who loses after paternity comes back and says the duped dad is 0% probable to be that child's biological father? Three people lose: the child, the duped dad, and the biological father. All because of one woman who couldn’t tell the truth! It's a vicious cycle that ONE person could have prevented - the mother. So the duped dad is forced to pay child support for a child that is not his and what happens to the biological father? Well, he has no say in anything - no parenting time, no child support, nothing! How is this fair? How is Paternity Fraud different from credit card fraud? It happens more often than you think. It is, essentially, a crime. And, if more women were sued for paternity fraud, we would see the percentage of men falsely named as dad decreasing. For the man, he may have an emotional attachment to this child or children thinking he is the father for whatever amount of time (in many cases it is years up to and including into adulthood). For the child, it is the loss of knowing who their true biological father is and the possible loss of the father named fraudulently who they have bonded to as a parent. Medically, it is depriving them of knowing their genetic medical history. And speaking of medical history, what if something tragic happened to that child requiring their father's blood for a blood transfusion and the father was the only one to give it? What would happen to that child if the duped dads blood didn’t match? It is important to know the health history of both the Mother and Father for medical care and treatment of the child. The courts claim they look out for the best interests of the child. Isn’t the child’s best interest to be with their biological parents? Wouldn’t it be in the child’s best interest to be able to establish a relationship with a parent who shares the same genes as them - to know of their interests, likes, dislikes, etc. And the only way a child would be able to do this, is if they turn of majority age which is usually 18, and by then so many years have passed that cannot be given back. Is it not the duty of our legislators to provide laws giving people that have been defrauded a legal avenue to end the fraud? Not only does the financial impact of the fraud persist after everyone, including the courts, are aware of the occurrence, but the child only suffers more if a non-biological father is forced by the state to remain their father. And how is that child going to feel growing older and finding out the truth that his/her mother has hidden from them? What happens to the actual biological children of the duped dad? They get benefits taken away from them such as money to save for college or to play sports. The mother is the one the perpetrator of this unthinkable act and should be the one held accountable. She is the one who has hurt all involved and it is fraud no matter how you look at it. A woman would not steal from her job because she would get caught, lose her job, and possibly be prosecuted as well for her actions. Why does she get a pat on her back for stealing from a man: Stealing a man’s money, insurance benefits, etc? Put this into perspective, you wouldn’t get a loan to buy a car, make the car payments and let someone else drive it all the time would you? This is the same scenario; supporting a child for whom another man should be responsible. The courts don’t look at it that way. They look at the duped dad as the bad guy once they find out the truth. The term “dead beat dad” gets thrown around quite a bit on issues involving children, but why do we never hear of dead beat moms, or money hungry moms? A woman sees her daddy options, picks the one she feels would be best for support, entrapment, etc. and then closes in on him knowing that the courts will not do anything once he has signed his name to that piece of paper. Not every duped dad would want to disestablish paternity once he’s learned the truth. However, they should be entitled to that option, and they should definitely be relieved from any financial obligation. How would you feel if a woman did this to your father, brother, or son? Please sign this petition and tell the West Virginia legislature that the laws need to change to help families find justice in the family court system! Thank you.