Brian McKnight Cleared Paternity Test
A DNA test confirms that singer Brian McKnight is not the father of a teenage boy. A woman by the name of Miriam Lee made allegations that the famous singer had impregnated her after a fling the two of them had 14 years ago. The allegations were made last year in 2009 and McKnight was ordered to pay her $340,000.00 in paternity payments for failing to file the court documents addressing Ms.Lee’s allegations. McKnight finally took a DNA test and the results indicated that he is not the boy’s father. The case has been dismissed, according to TMZ.com.
How does Ontario deal with paternity tests?
Based on the Children’s Law Reform Act (CLRA) there are certain presumptions regarding parentage that, if satisfied automatically make a person a parent. Unless the contrary is proven on a balance of probabilities, there is a presumption that a male person shall be recognized to be the father of a child in any one of the following circumstances:
- The person is married to the mother of the child at the time of the birth of the child.
- The person was married to the mother of the child by a marriage that was terminated by death or judgment of nullity within 300 days before the birth of the child or by divorce where the decree nisi was granted within 300 days before the birth of the child.
- The person marries the mother of the child after the birth of the child and acknowledges that he is the natural father.
- The person was cohabiting with the mother of the child in a relationship of some permanence at the time of the birth of the child or the child is born within 300 days after they ceased to cohabit.
- The person has certified the child’s birth, as the child’s father, under the Vital Statistics Act or a similar Act in another jurisdiction in Canada.
- The person has been found or recognized in his lifetime by a court of competent jurisdiction in Canada to be the father of the child.
McKnight was neither married to Ms.Lee nor was he cohabitating with Ms.Lee at the time of the birth of the child. Claiming that McKnight was the father was a mere allegation that she had made almost 14 years after the birth of the child. The court simply found him to be the father of the child due to his failure to address the lawsuit. McKnight should have taken a paternity test, however he did not do so and as such, the judge made a default ruling in Ms.Lee’s favour. The court has the authority to order blood tests or DNA tests for the purposes of proving parentage, however the judge did not do so in this case.
Given that McKnight did not counter the allegations made by Ms.Lee by taking a paternity test, the judge made a default judgment against him. He subsequently took the paternity test which confirmed that he was not the father. Sources do not confirm what will happen with the $340,000.00 that he has already paid to Ms.Lee for child support.
