§ 541 Order dismissing petition

If a paternity case goes to court and the judge decides the man is not the child's father, the judge must dismiss (throw out) the paternity petition. This means the case against him as the father legally ends.

However, if a neglect case was also filed alongside the paternity case, the court can still handle that neglect case. It doesn't matter if the paternity petition gets dismissed or not. The court keeps its authority to deal with the neglect claims separately, so those issues can still move forward even if the paternity question is settled.