Hi all, I have a question about child support. I'm only 6 and a half months pregnant but I feel its better to have the questions answered early than late down the road. A little background information... I was living with my child's father when I found out I was pregnant and a little later he seemed to have disappear. I believe he moved to New York but I'm not sure where. He would call me from a blocked number every once in a while but now I haven't heard from him in months and I recently found out he has several kids from several different woman (2 pregnant and one already with a 5 year old son) And he isn't helping with medical expenses or any other expenses with me or these other woman. Its very clear he doesn't want anything to do with his children which he is so ignorantly making and leaving. My question is, is there a way to force him to help with the expenses such as the furniture I need for the baby, clothing, etc. and How exactly does child support work? Is he off the hook because he's disappeared?

As soon as the child is born, you list him as the father on the birth certificate. You then retain an attorney and file in your local court for child support. Your attorney will tell you what steps you need to take to try and inform him of your petition for support.

If he doesn't show up, then you will get a support order. There are various agencies that will help you collect from him, though there are no guarantees.

That being said, I have to add that you really need to be more careful with your boyfriends. Moving in with someone who has several other kids he is not supporting was not a smart thing to do. Had you checked him out more thoroughly, you might have avoided your current predicament.

Scott is right. You aren't the only one that didn't give your partner a good background check before sleeping with so now you are going to have to deal with the consequences. You can't do anything until the baby is born. Once it is get a lawyer. They will help you greatly in filing for support and taking any steps needed to find the father. Once the order is in place he will be responsible for paying. If he dosen't then you go back to court. If her gets waay behind you can contact one of the child support collection agencies but again there are no guarantees. This is a free country so he can choose he would rather not be able to drive (legally) and/or sit in jail than pay.

I kind of learned that the hard way, but thanks for all your help. I have two question will the lawyer cost a lot of money or can a find a free one and I just found out he is in jail using a fake name. How can he do that and get away with it?

Ok first it depends on the lawyer. You will have to call around to see. If you are just going after support you don't have to have a lawyer they are just a big help but you have the state on your side. Second, have you personally seen his ID or birth certificate, or ss card? If not, no offence to you but you may not have known his real name and the one he is using in jail might be his real one. There are tons of possibilities on that front.

Thanks for all the help, I think he's using a alias to avoid going to jail longer because of probation violations

Also I will be honest, if he has other children and they get orders of support first, there is a max that can be garnished so if there are other kids in line first, yours may end up not getting anything

thanks for all the help, I think he's using a alias to avoid going to jail longer because of probation violations

Improbable! One of the first things they do when they arrest someone is fingerprint them. They then check those fingerprints against those in the system. If he's ever been arrested before, they will find him. He may delay the identification a few days, but no more than that.

The minute that the baby is born you need to list this man as who you believe to be the father. If you are on any type of state assistance, the state may automatically file an order for child support pending a paternity test.

As for him using a fake name, it sounds like the name you have for him is the fake one. Like Scott said, they will cross-reference any fingerprints and find out who he is. Once they learn his true identity, that's the name that they will book him under; they're not going to keep him in jail under an alias.

OK so I have found him! He is in jail, and the woman I spoke to in the records department said it is very likely for an inmate to use a alias. She said whatever name he used when he was arrested is the name he is committed under. And she found him under his alias. How insane is that? It seems like that would help the inmates get away with things to me.