Statute of limitations?

B

baswm

Guest
A coworker informed me he received a court order for a paternity test. He is married with kids and the birth Mother now claims her 12 year old son is his. The thought to be father who the boy and everyone else always believed to be the father tested negative. Now she wants him to test and it is giving his family a lot of stress. IT was before he got married or dated his wife but she is having a hard time dealing with it. To me, 12 years is a long time to wait and spring this on a person. I feel sorry for the kid, who I am sure will be caused a lot of emotional problems like his life was a lie. I wonder if the kid knows yet? I told my coworker to get a lawyer to protect his assets since he is the only one working and supporting the wife and 4 kids. He is worried about child support payments since they live pay check to paycheck already. Something like this should have a statute of limitations.
Anyone know of any comforting advice I can pass along to him.
 

Sharon

* * * * * * * * *
Staff member
PREMO Member
Originally posted by baswm

Anyone know of any comforting advice I can pass along to him.
Might not be his kid.


If it is...congratulate him and tell him to pay up.
 

Nickel

curiouser and curiouser
It sucks that the issue wasn't cleared up from the get-go, guess daddy #1 was confident the kid was his? :confused: But technically if this dude fathered a child, he should be responsible for some of the financial burden. This is why people shouldn't jump from man to man. I know who my baby daddy is...I ain't proud of it, but at least I know who the sh1thead is :shrug:
 

sleuth

Livin' Like Thanksgivin'
Perhaps the child's "acting father" is willing to adopt, in which the "biological father" would be released of all financial and parental obligation.

But... I'm thinking since there was a paternity test done to show that he's not the real father, he and his old lady are not on the best of terms, and he may be looking to get out of paying child support himself.

That being said, if he loves the kid, he might be willing to adopt. :shrug:

I'm not sure what the laws are though, on how long you have to file for child support after the child is born and/or after the parents split.
 

Toxick

Splat
Originally posted by baswm
Anyone know of any comforting advice I can pass along to him.



Here's some advice:

It would be cheaper to kill that #####.





Disclaimer: I don't advocate murder. The advice above is intended for satire and humor purposes only. Don't kill anyone. Not only will it get you in jail, it makes Jesus cry.
 

sleuth

Livin' Like Thanksgivin'
Originally posted by Nickel
She has until the kid turns 18, as far as I know...

Can she sue him for backpay for the last 12 years?

That would just plain suck.
 

citysherry

I Need a Beer
First and foremost tell your friend to get a lawyer. Was this woman married to the man that tested negative for paternity? If he was married to her and his name is on the birth certificate, legally, he's the one that is financially responsible for the kid and not your friend. Now if your friend is not interested in knowing if he is the biological father, the lawyer can fight the DNA test...just because he received a court order to take the test doesn't mean he has to comply; however, it can't be ignored either - this is where the lawyer comes in. However, if he wants definitive proof of whether or not he's the biological father then he should take the test.
 

sleuth

Livin' Like Thanksgivin'
I know that Slade & Slade in Leonardtown, I think, does family law. I used Dan Slade to close on my house and was pretty happy with him, and I quickly built a good rapport with him.

That being said, my services were for standard fees, standard times, so it was pretty much open and shut. I don't know how they are at family law or what they charge per hour, and what sorts of things they charge you for.

My girlfriend's divorce lawyer charged her for an hour everytime he picked up the phone for a 5 minute question. He also charged her for travel time to the courthouse and such to file papers, even though he was probably filing papers for more than one client.

She has since found another one and kept her in mind in case she has to go back to court for anything relating to custody later on. This lawyer works across from the courthouse, so there's no travel time, and charges her in 5 or 10 minute increments for quick questions/calls rather than an hour each time.

But a lawyer is DEFINITELY the first thing I'd be doing.
 

crabcake

But wait, there's more...
Pennsylvania had a reverse case of this recently that is going to the supreme court, I believe.

Husband and wife have a child and raise the child. They divorce. Kid is a few years old (guessing 10) :shrug: "Father" is paying child support and has been since divorce. Something happens that the father finds out through blood work (not paternity testing) that he cannot be his son's father (something to do with blood typing) so he gets a paternity test that confirms he ain't the father.

Courts are STILL making him pay child support! :shocking: PA law states that if a child is conceived during the course of a marriage, that the husband is considered THE father (unless he would have had the test done immediately at birth, which most don't b/c they'd never suspect) and as such is financially responsible.

Tell your buddy to get a lawyer. From what I've read, this isn't happening in PA alone. Circumstances are a little different, but if the courts can make a man who is NOT the father of a child pay child support, I don't see why they wouldn't make your buddy pay (and maybe arrears) for the kid if it IS his. :ohwell:

good luck!
 

Nickel

curiouser and curiouser
Originally posted by sleuth14
Can she sue him for backpay for the last 12 years?

That would just plain suck.

No, at least not in Maryland. Arrears (backpay) are assessed from the day she files for child support against your coworker. If she files today, but the matter isn't figured out (assuming he's the dad) until November, he's responsible for paying what's accrued over the 6 or so months. But he can't be held responsible for the 12 years she failed to inform him he had a kid..
 

sleuth

Livin' Like Thanksgivin'
Originally posted by Nickel
No, at least not in Maryland. Arrears (backpay) are assessed from the day she files for child support against your coworker. If she files today, but the matter isn't figured out (assuming he's the dad) until November, he's responsible for paying what's accrued over the 6 or so months. But he can't be held responsible for the 12 years she failed to inform him he had a kid..

well... there's some good news for the guy...
 

mainman

Set Trippin
If I were him, I would not make any moves until I knew if the child was mine or not...

If the child is his... Then he should accept full responsibility for him by paying the CS, if not, they can go pound sand...
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
That's the saddest thing I ever heard in my life. Can you imagine being 12 years old and the only father you've ever known takes a paternity test so he doesn't have to be responsible for you anymore? :frown: Hopefully the "thought he was" dad didn't have any relationship with the boy. That's sad in and of itself but at least it's not a slap in the face betrayal.

That slut should be killed for doing this to a kid.
 

CMC122

Go Braves!
Originally posted by vraiblonde
That's the saddest thing I ever heard in my life. Can you imagine being 12 years old and the only father you've ever known takes a paternity test so he doesn't have to be responsible for you anymore? :frown: Hopefully the "thought he was" dad didn't have any relationship with the boy. That's sad in and of itself but at least it's not a slap in the face betrayal.

That slut should be killed for doing this to a kid.
I'll give an Amen to that. I feel the most for the kid than anyone else involved in this.
 

crabcake

But wait, there's more...
Originally posted by vraiblonde
That's the saddest thing I ever heard in my life. Can you imagine being 12 years old and the only father you've ever known takes a paternity test so he doesn't have to be responsible for you anymore? :frown: Hopefully the "thought he was" dad didn't have any relationship with the boy. That's sad in and of itself but at least it's not a slap in the face betrayal.

That slut should be killed for doing this to a kid.

The situation was that he DID have a relationship with the kid; they divorced; mother kept the boy away from dad as much as possible, even though he was paying child support, being a good dad, etc. Something happens where bloodwork is done, and the dad's new wife who was a nurse or something says, "Uhh, Joe ... you aren't your son's bio-dad b/c it's impossible with your blood types." Since the guys' ex was keeping his son from him, he went to court, brought this information and the paternity test he had done, and the court said, "tough luck buddy! you get to keep on paying, even if your ex is being a biatch and causing problems for you to see your non-bio son." :crazy:

Here's the story from one newspaper ...

Here's a case of a man who had an affair with a married woman, fathered a child with her (proved by paternity testing) yet the courts are denying him rights because the woman was married and her husband is therefore "presumed" the father; they also say DNA tests shouldn't be admissible! :WTF: :shrug:

Another interesting read ...
 

vraiblonde

Board Mommy
PREMO Member
Patron
"He had a little puzzled look on his face," Miscovich said. "He said, 'Who's going to be my daddy?' I said, 'Well, we'll have to talk to your mom about that.' "
:ohwell:

"The decision to actually break the tie with the child - that was an easy decision. That was based on fact. Once I had the knowledge that I wasn't his father, I knew I couldn't be his father," Miscovich said.
:ohwell:
 

crabcake

But wait, there's more...
Originally posted by vraiblonde
:ohwell:

:ohwell:

I'm not saying the guy did what I would do in those circumstances ... but I think the law is pretty flakey. :ohwell: And while I understand the child is the victim, the non-bio father is a victim too by some biatch's lie and infidelity.

There are so many points in a case like that where there's no right way to resolve it ... if you can the guy's requirement to support his non-bio child, the kid loses out ... but how do you justify making a man pay support for a child that is NOT his? :shrug:

I am surprised I never heard about this case hitting Jerry Springer, to be quite honest. :ohwell: They guy there with the new wife, his former wife, and 3 other guys coming out from behind the curtain to learn whether they are bebe's daddy or not. :crazy:
 

Pete

Repete
I posted a link to a Maine State Supreme Court decision on this very subject a long time ago. I searched for it but cannot find it.

They ruled the same way. That the non-bio father had established a fatherlike relationship with the child thus was responsible.

Personally I think it is a way to hook up some guy to support the child so the state doesn't have to through welfare.

The same court in a later opinion concluded that estblishing a fatherlike relationship was not grounds for visitation;

Woman and man marry. Woman has an affair and gets pregnant. Woman does not tell husband. Kid is born, husband treats kid like his own for 7 years because he thinks it is his. Woman and man divorce. Woman marries real father. Ex husband sues for visitation, is denied because he is not bio dad.
 
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