Court Opinion

ID: 9748722
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 16:11:10.176623+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:30.625979
License: Public Domain

BROSKY, Judge,
concurring:
I am constrained to concur in the result reached by the majority, although I recognize we are bound to do so under present law.
I write separately, however, to express my concern over the possible ramifications that the current law may produce. In a day and age when scientific knowledge has risen to the level where the identity of a child’s biological father can be determined with an accuracy level of 99.7%, I question the wisdom, in a case such as this, of denying the child the right to know her father.
In Pennsylvania we have a line of cases, as discussed by the majority, which hold that a party is estopped from questioning paternity once paternity has been established either by consent or order. See Wachter v. Ascero, 379 Pa.Super. 618, 550 A.2d 1019 (1988); Seger v. Seger, 377 Pa.Super. 391, 547 A.2d 424 (1988); Manze v. Manze, 362 Pa.Super. 153, 523 A.2d 821 (1987); Chrzanowski v. Chrzanowski, 325 Pa.Super. 298, 472 A.2d 1128 (1983); Commonwealth ex rel. Gonzalez v. Andreas, 245 Pa.Super. 307, 369 A.2d 416 (1976); Commonwealth ex rel. Palchinski v. Palchinski, 253 Pa.Super. 171, 384 A.2d 1285 (1978); Commonwealth ex rel. Weston v. Weston, 201 Pa.Super. 554, 193 A.2d 782 (1963); Commonwealth ex rel. Goldman v. Goldman, 199 Pa.Super. 274, 184 A.2d 351 (1962).
The rationale behind this rule, as expressed in Commonwealth ex rel. Gonzalez v. Andreas, supra, is as follows:
Absent any overriding equities in favor of the putative father such as fraud, the law cannot permit a party to renounce even an assumed duty of parentage when by doing so, the innocent child would be victimized.
369 A.2d at 419. This concern over the possible victimization of the child is understandable in the great majority of cases. There is the possibility that the child would be deprived of a father’s support, both emotionally and financially, should his paternity be questioned and/or disproven.
*311Instantly, however, we have the unusual circumstance of not one, but two, men vying for the right to be considered the “father” of this little girl. Both express a willingness to support her and to take his “proper” place in her life. While I recognize the importance of maintaining consistency in the child’s life, and I fully respect the relationship cultivated by appellant and the child throughout her lifetime, I must point out that the actions on the part of appellee have already disrupted this little girl’s life. She has been deprived of time spent with the only man she has recognized as her father and, there has been mention of the fact that the child’s reaction has been so negative that she herself no longer wishes to see appellant Therefore, in my opinion, the “victimization” of the child has already taken place.
It now remains for the court to return some semblance of order to the child’s already shattered life. In so doing, I believe that the Court should examine any and all evidence which could aid it in this difficult task. If indeed, the biological father can be determined and is ready to assume his responsibility, then I believe there should be a departure from existing law which precludes him from being considered because of a “legal fiction” whose purpose may, in this case, not be valid.