N.Y. High Court Says Mistaken Avowal of Fatherhood Imposes an 'Equitable Paternity'

He who acts like a father, is a father -- at least legally -- the New York Court of Appeals said in imposing "equitable paternity" on a man who wrongly assumed he had fathered a girl and acted accordingly. The man had argued that the order to pay child support on behalf of a child he did not father effectively saddled him with an involuntary adoption, in violation of the Constitution and contrary to public policy. But the court focused not on whether he got a raw deal but on the best interests of the child.

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