children
Can you disown a child that is not your own?
<p>I am wondering about this question - can you are disown a child if he is not your own?</p>

<p>Imagine a situation when you signed the birth certificate of your wife's child not knowing he is not your biological child. One day, you somehow finds out and divorces her. Do you have any obligation to this child even though you (arguably were deceived to have) signed his birth certificate?</p>

<p>I am curious how various country would treat this case.</p>

<p>It depends on the jurisdiction.</p>

<p>The term you are looking for is “<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternity_fraud" rel="nofollow noreferrer">paternity fraud</a>”, and depending on where you are in the world, you can challenge paternity even after accepting the child as your own.</p>

<p>The wikipedia page lists several examples where the man has been successful.  It also lists several examples where the man has been unsuccessful and has been ordered to continue paying child support.</p>

<h2>In most jurisdictions, the parents of a child are the people named on the birth certificate</h2>

<p>The law in this area is not really interested in biology. If it's your name on the certificate then it's legally your child and you are responsible for them.</p>
