K.B. v. D.B. & Another

Estoppel. Paternity. Legitimacy. Public Policy. ARMSTRONG, J. K.B., the husband, and D.B., the wife, were married September 25, 1977. A child, whom we call Sally, was born to D.B. on October 20, 1980. K.B., although doubting that Sally was his child, undertook nevertheless to act as father. The birth certificate so stated, and Sally went by the family name. A court-ordered blood test in 1987 established that K.B. could not be Sally's father. Rejecting D.B.'s contention (supported by the Department of Revenue) that K.B. should be estopped to assert his nonpaternity, a Judge of the Probate Court dismissed D.B.'s action for separate support and, in K.B.'s divorce action, ruled that he was not Sally's father and had no obligation for child support. D.B. and, in the support action, the Department of Revenue, appeal from the judgments.