View Full Version : Child Support
cwilliams45
Jun 19, 2007, 04:27 PM
If I'm not the natural father of my wife's two kids, but I signed the birth certificates for them later after we were married, will I have to pay child support for them if we divorce.
Fr_Chuck
Jun 19, 2007, 04:48 PM
Birth certificate does not mean anything if you have to pay or not, you being the father is all that matters, if you are listed as the father on the birth certificate, all that means is they do not have to get a DNA test to prove you are the father.
So yes if you are the father of two children and you are not living together you will have to pay child support
LadyB
Jun 20, 2007, 06:04 AM
You can be considered the father, for all legal intents and purposes, even if you aren't the bio dad. So, yes you can be ordered to pay child support. Check your states paternity statutes, they are usually quite clear.
nya
Jun 20, 2007, 07:27 PM
Hi,
I can tell you what would happen here in Florida. If your wife came into the child support office to file a case against you, we would pursue you as the father because your name is on the birth certificate. She would then be able to go into family court regarding her divorce and tell the judge her child support is being handled by the local child support office. The judge would then address other issues such as property, visitation, custody, etc. Or she could pursue everything under the divorce case (child support, arrears, visitation, custody, property, etc) Now if you feel that you don't want to pay child support for the children, you would have to do some heavy duty explaining to a judge on why you signed the birth certificate of children who were not yours and wanted to be responsible at that time. You can make it an issue but I have to tell you that here you would have a hard time wiggling out of paying child support but it depends on the laws of your state and the judge on your divorce case.
shygrneyzs
Jun 20, 2007, 08:10 PM
I would ask how in the world did you manage to sign as Father to the two children without having to go to the biological Father and have his rights terminated? But whatever... you are considered the legal Father. You will be paying child support.
nya
Jun 20, 2007, 08:17 PM
Most likely, no one was named on the birth certificate and that is how he was able to just sign the kids birth certificates.