MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Twin brothers in Brazil will have to pay paternity support for a girl

The identical twins refused to admit who the father of the baby girl was in an attempt to avoid making support payments.

Twin brothers in Brazil are being forced to each pay child support after a paternity test was unable to confirm who the father of a newborn baby is. The identical twins refused to admit who the father of the baby girl was in an attempt to avoid making support payments.

After additional DNA testing was done and returned inconclusive, a judge made the decision to hold them both accountable for supporting the child. The brothers, whose identities remain anonymous, have been using their physical similarities to trick women into thinking they were the other person.

“They each used the other’s name, either to attract as many women as possible or to hide betrayal in their relationships,” the ruling judge wrote in a statement.

They will each be required to pay US$ 60 a month to the girl’s mother, which is double the normal amount a child from that economic background receives in Brazil.

“One of them is acting in bad faith in order to hind the fact that he is the father. Such vile behavior cannot be tolerated by the law,” the judge officially stated. The judge also noted the brothers' “clumsiness” should not prevent the young girl from her right to a good life and called it a major deciding factor in his decision.

According to the mother’s testimony, she admitted to believing she was with one man but started to question things when the man would show up driving a different vehicle.

“They know the truth, but they take advantage of the similarity to evade responsibility,” the mother told authorities.

Brazilian news outlet Globo reported that the brothers blame each other for this incident occurring, and now claim each other is the father. Both brothers' names will appear on the daughter’s birth certificate.

A similar case occurred in the US in 2007, the US Supreme Court ended up ruling the twin with the closest bond to the child was the father.