Determining Paternity and Child Support Obligations

 Posted on October 09, 2015 in Paternity

When a child is born to a married woman, there is no need for the woman's husband to declare his paternity to legally claim the child as his own. It is automatically assumed that any children born to a married mother are her husband's biological children as well. But this is not always the case. Sometimes, children are conceived during extramarital affairs. This might not be discovered until years after the child's birth, possibly after the parents' divorce and thousands of dollars of child support.

What are your options if you find out your alleged child is not biologically yours? Find out by contacting an experienced divorce attorney to determine your rights and if you can possibly recover the money you spent in child support.

Yes, You Can Be Required to Continue Paying Child Support

If you are a child's legal father, it can be very difficult to eliminate your child support obligation. Even with a valid DNA test showing that you are not biologically related to the child in question, the court may determine that it is in the child's best interest that you continue to provide for him or her financially. The court may make this ruling if you are the only father the child ever knew and you have a significant relationship with him or her.

Challenging Your Paternity

If you think your child might not be biologically yours, you have the right to challenge the assumption of your paternity. Do this by ordering a DNA test from a licensed DNA testing center. To officially deny your paternity, you must sign a Denial of Paternity form. If you or your former partner knows who the child's biological father is, he and the mother must then sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP) form.

Modify Your Child Support Order

To reopen your child support order for the court to reconsider and potentially suspend it, you need to petition to the court for a modification. Your attorney will help you with this. Modifying your child support order will be much easier if the child's mother is willing to cooperate with the process – if not, if she refuses to cooperate with your request for a DNA test or contests that you did not know the child was not biologically yours, it can be very difficult to eliminate your legal obligation to the child.

Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that you will be able to recover the money you paid out in child support.

Kane County Divorce Attorneys

Explore all of your options about your child support order. To get started with this exploration, contact Goostree Law Group to discuss your case with a member of our firm during your free legal consultation. Contact our firm today at 630-584-4800. We are a team of knowledgeable, compassionate Kane County divorce attorneys who can examine all the details present in your paternity and child support case and represent your interests in court.

Sources:

http://www.idph.state.il.us/vitalrecords/births/Pages/paternity.htm

http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=2097&ChapterID=59