Is it possible to stop paying child support on a child thats not yours?

Question

My husband is paying child support on 2 children, one is his and one isnt. We just had a child ourselves. Is there a way we can fight paying child support for the child thats not really his? He keeps telling me that because he signed the birth certificate for her and its been 6 years, that theres nothing we can do, that hes stuck paying for her.. is this correct? We dont have enough money to support our newborn because of the child support pymts he makes.

Answer 1

listen not for nothing but sounds to me like your husband acted like this childs father - i have kids if i found out they werent mine i dont think i could stop loving them and stop supporting them in every way i do now . dont worry about the money -a lot of people feel the same way when they have babies - you will survive and your husband wont have to feel like he deserted his kids

Answer 2

It really is something you should have thought about before having a child with this man; you knew what the situation was when you got into it. No Judge will have pity on him (or you) for this.

He would need to get an attorney specializing in family law/paternity cases, get Court Ordered DNA testing and even if the child is proven geneticially not to be his, he will still to have his attorney file an Amended Child Support Order as he has been the defacto father for 6 years an did nothing to fight it until now.

This is especially true if the mother made him aware he was not the father but he chose to accept responsibility anyway by signing the birth certificate and paying the child support up until now. The Judge could rule against Amending the Support Order. Also, it was know or the possibility of it being known that the child was not genetically his and he agreed to pay support payments, there is no way for him to go back and get what has been paid to him as the above poster has indicated...that is only in cases where there has been intentional deception.

This will not be a cheap or speedy process and there are no guarantees, especially if the mother choses to fight it.

Another thing to keep in mind it is more than likely that your husband does view this child, especially if he has a part in raising it since birth and the child is a half-sibling to a biological child he knows is his, he is only going to resent you if you continue to push the matter.

If he is a decent, upstanding man, he is not going to want to abandon, either emotionally or financially, a child that looks up to him as their father. He may need to take on a part-time job or you may need to get a job to fulfill the obligation to the child you chose to create after he already had two mouths he had already committed to feed.

Answer 3

cvq3842's answer is about right. More and more, guys in your husband's situation are stuck with it. The courts look at like this: if you knew there was a chance the kid wasn't yours when it was born, you should have addressed it then. And if you found out much later, then you have still bonded with that child as your own. Why should the child be made to suffer the monetary and emotional consequences of having the only dad they know break ties that way? Quite frankly, I agree with the courts on this one.

And I'm sorry you don't have enough money to support your kid with him, but you should have taken all this into consideration before you married him, much less had a kid with him. I know not all kids are planned, but you have to find a way to make do. I made do for the first ten years of my son's life with no support from his deadbeat father, so I can't really sympathize here.

Answer 4

Unfortunately that is true. By signing the certificate he accepted responsbility for the child. I know how yu feel, because I have to pay child support for my son, and I also have another baby. It's tough financially sometimes, but that's life.

If you want, you could speak to an attorney to see if there is anyhting your husband can do, but I'm sure there isn't. Some states have laws that would make him responsible for child support even if its not his, if his ex-can establish he formed a bond with the child in question, that's good enough for the court. Washington State has laws like that.

Answer 5

Believe it or not, a paternity test that proves your husband is NOT the father may not be enough to stop the obligation!

The law seeks to protect the child so it has a provider. This interest is very strong, and therefore courts make it difficult for a man to withdraw support once he has taken steps to acknowledge paternity.

It's not fair to the man, but again the law is concerned with the child.

So I can't say he's home free. There's MAYBE a chance he can get out of it. Please contact a good local family law attorney. Good luck.

PS Even sperm donors are at risk. If there's a kid out there who needs money, and you have a connection with it, there's a chance you'll be tapped. Like it or not, that's how it is.

Answer 6

There would be cost up front because you would have to get a lawyer to petition to change, and also for a DNA test to prove the child is not his. But, in the long run it will save you money if proven the child is not his. Also, you run into the issue of whether or not that child believes he is their father. If they do, then they may grow to resent the fact that he does not help to support them. It's a sticky situation for sure, but one that can be sorted out.

Answer 7

My god Yvette did you even read the question????????? the kid is not his!!!! id stop paying on the one and use the money for a lawyer, even if he goes to jail , he will loose his income that he has to send to a kid that not his anyway, so you should then qualify for aid, i know it's a hard choose but why should your kid starve so that some hoe can feed hers?

Answer 8

If the child support is court ordered, your husband can petition for a hearing to modify the decree to reduce or eliminate such support payments.

Answer 9

he's right, i am sure the judge / attorney explained it to him. if he was the childs only father figure during a marriage, or on birth cert, it is his responsibility.

i (as well as the courts) cant stand dudes who complain they cant afford the child support and yet go out and make more babies.

makes no sense.

CHILD SUPPORT CALCULATOR
http://www.alllaw.com/calculators/childsupport/

ABANDONMENT (NO SHOW PARENTS)
http://www.alllaw.com/articles/family/

NOT ALL PARENTS LOVE THEIR CHILDREN
And "RATIONAL LIES"
http://www.alllaw.com/articles/family/child_custody/article7.asp


LAWS
http://www.divorcehq.com/spprtgroups.html
http://www.divorceinfo.com/statebystate.htm
http://www.divorcenet.com/states
http://www.divorcesource.com/
http://www.divorcesource.com/info/deadbeat/deadbeat.shtml
http://www.divorcecentral.com/
http://family.findlaw.com/
http://family.findlaw.com/child-support/unpaid-support/support-orders-enforcement.html
http://www.divorcehq.com/deadbeat.html
http://www.divorceinfo.com/
http://www.divorceinanutshell.com/
http://www.lawchek.com/Library1/_books/domestic/qanda/childsupp.htm
http://family.findlaw.com/child-support/support-laws/state-child-/
http://www.supportguidelines.com/resources.html
http://www.supportguidelines.com/links.html
http://www.supportguidelines.com/laypersons.html
http://www.supportguidelines.com/articles/news.html
http://family.findlaw.com/child-support/support-basics/
http://www.spiesonline.net/deadbeat.shtml
http://www.childsupport-aces.org/index2.html

STATS
http://www.childsupport-aces.org/acesstatistics.html

FINDING DEADBEATS
(and background cks to find them)
http://www.usarecordssearch.com/
http://deadbeatsnitch.com/
http://www.wantedposters.com/skiptrace.htm
http://find.intelius.com/search-name.php?ReportType=1&
http://omnitrace.com/Missing-Persons-Search.html?OVRAW=deadbeat&OVKEY=deadbeat&OVMTC=standard
http://www.discreetdata.com/index.html
http://www.identitycrawler.net/people_search.html
http://www.peoplefinders.com
http://zabasearch.com/
http://www.crimcheck.com/personalreports.htm
http://www.easybackgroundchecks.com/
http://www.abika.com/
http://www.freeprf.com/
http://www.efindoutthetruth.com/
http://www.netsleuth.com/
http://netonlineinvestigators.com/index.asp
http://www.backgroundcheckgateway.com/
http://www.backgroundcheckgateway.com/locate-people.html

REGIONAL FEDERAL CHILD SUPPORT OFFICES
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/oro/regions/acf_regions.html

FACTS AND REGIONAL FEDERAL CS OFFICE INFO
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/fct/fct4.htm
http://www.divorcesource.com/WI/ARTICLES/beaulier11.html
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/opa/fact_sheets/cse_factsheet.html
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/newhire/index.html
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/faq.html
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/newhire/fop/passport.htm
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/newhire/fop/fop.htm
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cse/newhire/faq/faq.htm
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/extinf.html
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/programs/cse/
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/grants/grants_cse.html
http://www.acf.dhhs.gov/index.html
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/region2/index.html
http://www.fms.treas.gov/faq/offsets_childsupport.html
http://www.govbenefits.gov/govbenefits_en.portal
http://www.fedstats.gov/qf/
http://www.fedworld.gov/gov-links.html
http://fatherhood.hhs.gov/pfs92/ch3.htm


CHILD SUPPORT LIEN NETWORK
(some states work with them)
http://www.childsupportliens.com/

COLLECTORS
http://www.supportkids.com/
http://www.supportcollectors.com/faq.php
http://www.deadbeatdadfinders.com/
http://www.deadbeatdadfinders.com/links.html
http://www.childsupport-aces.org/index2.html
http://www.divorcesource.com/info/deadbeat/deadbeat.shtml

TAX INFO
http://www.taxsites.com/index.htm
http://www.divorceinfo.com/taxes.htm
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc354.html
http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc422.html
http://www.irs.gov/faqs/faq4-5.html
http://www.irs.gov/localcontacts/index.html
http://www.irs.gov/advocate/index.html
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p525/index.html

http://www.fms.treas.gov/faq/offsets_childsupport.html
http://www.irs.gov/publications/p504/ar02.html#d0e563
http://money.cnn.com/2007/02/14/pf/taxes/do_not_miss_tax_breaks/index.htm?postversion=2007021411

REPORT DEADBEATS
WORKING UNDER THE TABLE
(in writing, to your local and federal IRS offices)
http://www.irs.gov/localcontacts/index.html
http://www.irs.gov/compliance/enforcement/article/0,,id=106778,00.html

SEX OFFENDERS
http://www.mapsexoffenders.com/
http://www.scanusa.com/
http://www.nsopr.gov/
http://www.familywatchdog.us/Default.asp

Answer 10

if he did not legally adopt the child and he can prove with a DNA test he does not have to pay for that child and she may be responsible to return all the money he paid her for the child.