text: does anyone know if there is a time limit (years) to where a father can claim a child to be his then recant?   once he signed the legal birth certificate, he became the legal father of that child. a birth cert. is a legal document. if he wants to pay for a paternity test, let him flip out the bucks, it's just going to be a waste. in the meantime, i would be back in the court asking for extra money considering your sons illness. god bless you!