Opinion ID: 1187866
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mother-child privity

Text: ¶ 15 A mother's interests in bringing a paternity action include securing financial assistance to raise her child and gaining the ability to legally enforce the father's support obligation. Of course, a mother also has emotional and psychological interests in establishing her child's paternity. These may include, for example, a lessened burden from sharing the responsibility of physical custody and tending to the child's emotional and developmental needs. ¶ 16 It is important to remember, however, that parental relationships are triangular; not only does each parent have a relationship with the child, but the parents also have a relationship with each other. See Carl W. Gilmore, Independent Evidence: A New Tool for Paternity Cases, 86 ILL. B.J. 476, 480 (1998). As a result, even if the mother's interests appear to be aligned with the child's, she is often subject to pressures from her relationship with the father. These pressures may affect her decision to proceed with a paternity suit. A mother may decide to dismiss a pending paternity suit because she may hope for a continuing relationship with the father, or because her relationship with the father has deteriorated to the point that she wants to avoid contact with him. There may be pressure from community or family disapproval of the father, the relationship, or the paternity action. The mother may be deterred by the trouble, difficulty, and expense of maintaining the lawsuit and decide that she wants and has the means to raise the child independently. Moreover, the putative father may offer the mother an amount sufficient to induce her to settle the claim without an adjudication. See, e.g., Johnson, 447 N.W.2d at 875. ¶ 17 As illustrated by the list above, a mother's and a child's interests in a paternity determination not only differ, but may potentially conflict. Hall, 191 Ariz. at 108, 952 P.2d at 752. While assuming that most mothers are dedicated to pursuing the best interests of their children, we must also acknowledge that a mother's perception of what is best for her child will often be affected by factors unique to her. Recognizing that many mothers face significant personal obstacles when pursuing paternity claims, we cannot expect them to always protect only their child's interests and ignore their own. See G.E.B. v. S.R.W., 422 Mass. 158, 661 N.E.2d 646, 651 (1996) (a mother's independent interests may prevent her from fully protecting the child's sometimes competing concerns); R.A.J. v. L.B.V., 169 Ariz. 92, 96, 817 P.2d 37, 41 (App.1991) (because conflicts of interest are inherent in paternity case, leaving parent to represent her child may leave child's rights unprotected). ¶ 18 Thus, although a mother's concerns are more substantial than those of the state, we conclude that the fundamental and unique nature of the child's interests cannot always be adequately represented by the mother, who may have differing, even conflicting interests. We agree with Hall that a mother and child lack the necessary commonality of interests to find them in privity.