In addition to paternity testing, fatherhood may be demonstrated ...

Law Lessons from NEW JERSEY DIVISION OF YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES V. D.S.H. AND W.W. // IN THE MATTER OF THE GUARDIANSHIP OF R.S.H., __ N.J. Super. __ (App. Div. 2012), A-5723-10T1, April 12, 2012:

In New Jersey, parenthood is not merely a biological determination. See M.F. v. N.H., 252 N.J. Super. 420, 429 (App. Div. 1991). In M.F., we held that a court should not order a paternity test over the objection of the mother and her husband unless it determines by clear and convincing evidence that it is in the best interests of the child. This is so because ?[t]he shifting of paternity from the presumed father to the biological father could easily be detrimental to the emotional and physical well-being of any child.? Ibid. In some cases, the best interests of the child ?will be better served by no paternity determination at all.? Id. at 427.

In addition to paternity testing, fatherhood may be demonstrated through a psychological relationship. See Watkins v. Nelson, 163 N.J. 235, 254 (2000) (explaining in the context of a custody dispute that ?when a third party, such as a stepparent, establishes psychological parentage with the child, the third party stands in the shoes of a natural parent.?); V.C. v. M.J.B., 163 N.J. 200, 219-20 (2000) (citing a multitude of Appellate Division cases recognizing psychological parentage in the custodial context); see also Michael H. v. Gerald D., 491 U.S. 110, 109 S. Ct. 2333, 105 L. Ed. 2d 91 (1989) (finding no constitutional infirmity in severing an established relationship between a child and her biological father in favor of a relationship between the child and her mother?s husband); Monmouth Cnty. Div. of Soc. Servs. v. R.K., 334 N.J. Super. 177 (Ch. Div. 2000) (finding the mother?s former boyfriend was the child?s psychological father and thus was equitably estopped from denying paternity for purposes of paying child support). A third party asserting psychological parentage must satisfy the four-part standard announced in V.C., supra, 163 N.J. at 223. To establish psychological parentage, ?the legal parent must consent to and foster the relationship between the third party and the child; the third party must have lived with the child; the third party must perform parental functions for the child to a significant degree; and most important, a parent-child bond must be forged.? Ibid.

?At the heart of the psychological parent cases is a recognition that children have a strong interest in maintaining the ties that connect them to adults who love and provide for them.? V.C., supra, 163 N.J. at 221. In the context of custody and visitation disputes, ?[o]nce a third party has been determined to be a psychological parent to a child . . . he or she stands in parity with the legal parent.? Id. at 223-27 (announcing the standard for determining how a third party establishes psychological parentage).

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