Divorce for many can be an overwhelmingly stressful time for all parties involved. When a husband begins to question his paternity of a child born during a marriage. This could be the mechanism that prompts the divorce for many men.

It becomes too difficult to deal with betrayal for many men and they seek to remove themselves from the marriage and in some cases, the child’s life. If this is your situation, and you are questioning the paternity of a child. This article is geared toward providing some insight into the challenges you may face during this process if you decide to disestablish paternity.

Before we begin it is important to note the information is geared toward married men. Not all of the topics addressed in this article will apply to unmarried men. If you are unmarried check my article here on establishing paternity testing.

There is a rule known as the Lord Mansfield Rule. This rule is foreign to most people in America but it is the most important rule for people who desire to marry to learn about. In particular men! The rule is to define as such, Lord Mansfield’s rule refers to a rule of evidence which provides that both husband and wife are not entitled to give testimony on the question whether they had access to the other at the time of conception. In other words, If a child is born into a marriage it is presumed that the child conceived is the husband’s child.

Each state uses an interpretation of the Lord Mansfield Rule as it’s foundation if an issue of disestablishment of paternity comes up during the marriage. Now, the most important thing a man can do, Regardless of how much love he may have for his wife. The most important thing a husband can do is perform a paternity test as soon as the child is born. This way, if there is no questioning of paternity in the future if things do not work out in a marriage. Performing this task could prevent one layer of additional stress in the event you decide to go through a divorce proceeding.