Paternity Dispute

Hello!
Soon after I left for a mission in Afghanistan, my wife announced that we were going to become parents. I was very happy. I couldn't wait to get home to Bulgaria. When I returned, however, "well-wishers" hinted to me that it was not certain whether I was the father. I know that the child was not to blame, we all love him very much, but the doubt does not give me peace. Is there a way to find out if I am the father without others finding out and without hurting my loved ones?

According to the provisions of the Family Code, the mother's husband is considered the father of the child born during the marriage or before the expiration of three hundred days from its termination. This legal presumption can only be rebutted by court order. If the child was born before the expiration of three hundred days from the termination of the marriage, but after the mother has entered into a new marriage, the mother's husband from the new marriage is considered the father of the child.
The origin of the child can be disputed by the child's mother or her husband. A child born during marriage, whose origin is established in his birth certificate, does not have the right to file a claim with the court to rebut the presumption that his mother's husband is his legal father. The mother may dispute that her husband is the father of the child by proving that the child could not have been conceived by him. This claim may be filed within 1 year of the birth. The expiration of the period results in the mother's loss of the right to file a claim and the court is obliged to monitor this ex officio. If the period for filing a claim has expired, the presumption of paternity remains unchallenged and the child does not have the right to file a claim to dispute that his mother's husband is his father. You, as the legal husband, can dispute your paternity by proving that the child was not conceived by you within 1 year of the birth. The same period is also in force in cases where the mother disputes the paternity of the child. The law does not give the right to dispute paternity in cases where:

the mother, with the written consent of her husband, given before the manager of the relevant institution, was artificially inseminated or gave birth to a child conceived with genetic material from another woman;

the child was born under the conditions of assisted reproduction, if the mother's husband gave informed written consent to its implementation.

The deadlines specified in the law for filing a claim to dispute paternity are preclusive. After their expiration, the presumption of paternity is irrefutable and the father of the child is considered to be the one who is entered in the act of the child's birth.
The legislator has foreseen the delicacy of the procedure for disputing paternity. For these reasons, the action to contest paternity is strictly personal in nature. Third parties cannot be involved or intervened in these legal proceedings.
In a legal action to contest paternity, the mother, the child and the husband are summoned as parties. When paternity is contested by the second spouse, the first spouse is also summoned as a party.
The fact that the spouses are in a de facto separation is not sufficient evidence to assume that sexual contact between them is excluded in such a way that the child could not have been conceived by the husband. The mother's husband can dispute that he is the father of the child by proving that the child could not have been conceived by him.

Evidence that the child could not have been conceived by the husband disputing paternity is:

the fact that at the time of conception the husband was in such a place that sexual contact between the spouses was objectively not possible.

medical examinations - blood group erythrocyte and leukocyte plus the much more expensive third-order DNA examination.
Interesting from a legal point of view is the question of the period for disputing paternity by the child. According to the provisions of the Family Code, the child can file a claim after reaching the age of majority. Provisions in the Civil Procedure Code and the Child Protection Act provide that the claim may be filed by a legal representative even before the child reaches the age of majority.

This article examines some aspects of the topic and does not represent full analysis of the problem. 

Author: Petya Stoevska, Dr. Sc