Need to know my rights, (preferably someone who has been in this boat before, better yet a lawyer) in regards to a child support fight, about a child who is not mine.

Story -
My wife previously lived in NH, and had a child during a previous marriage. The divorce was very bitter, to the tune of that my wife left NH, and relocated to NC. The father of the child retained custody of the child, with my wife responsible for paying child support.

A few years later, I (a NC resident) met her, and we got married. In all the years I have known her, I have known of the child, and personally think the world of the child. The child is simply awesome, but at the end of the day, I am not her father, she is not my biological blood, and I end up not having any rights to her, including any say in how she is raised, so for portents, she is not my child.

My wife is a full time RE agent. As most know, the real estate market bombed very badly this year. My wife's RE business this year has been almost non-existent. As such, she has fallen behind on her child support payments. When there was business, she kept up with her payments. During this timeframe, she has not been allowed by the ex husband to see the child (again, in NH). He comes up with excuses, or throws the arrearages in her face, using the sentiment, that since you can not pay, you can not see the child. Because of this, my wife took him to NH court, to attempt to get to see her child. The ex-husband counter sued, for contempt of child support. He won.

The court ordered my wife to maintain child support payments, (of which a portion of it goes to past due arrearages) as well as to seek other gainful employment outside of her already well established RE career. Of these orders, she has completed to the court's satisfaction. She has somehow or another maintained her payments, and has gone so far as to apply to well over 120 businesses in an attempt to come up with extra income. She has attended every court ordered appearance (16 hour drive, one way, 4x thus far this year alone), at our combined expense, and has attempted every avenue to remain involved in the child's life.

Where I become involved in the matter is that the court has ordered her to turn over my personal financials, as the ex-husband has accused her of purposely underemploying / being unemployed, and as such that my income should be garnished / used, to pay for her child support. This I take issue with, as I said above the child is not mine. She has shown the court (and it be recognized) that not only is she a full time RE agent, but is also looking for additional income. From my knowledge of NH law via web searches (notably NH RSA 458-C:2), my financials have no business being introduced, and therefore are not frankly any of the court's, or the ex-husbands business based on the intel from above.

I am a NC resident, married in NC, never stepped foot in NH, and therefore can not fanthom how a NH judge can even think, much less order that my financials be provided. Common sense alone dictates that it can not be construed that I should be forced to pay for a child that is not mine.

I am by far way to broke to afford a lawyer (unless pro-bono - hence this post) and would appreciate truthful, helpful ideas, and solutions. Thank you for your time.

p.s. If a pro-bono lawyer IS known, I would appreciate contact intel.

It is true that you cannot be held liable for her child support. However, your income (or the income of ANY adult in the home) can be used to determine if she is required to pay more or less support.

The idea is that some people get into situations where they personally no longer need to work because of spouse or relative support and the child should not suffer for that. Basically what they are trying to determine is that if her income is legitimately lower or you are supporting her. If they determine that you are supporting her, they will impute an income potential on her and that is what her support will be based off.

Again, YOU cannot be held liable for support.

Thanks for the intel Steve. I am in agreement (common sense to me) that I can not be held liable for support for the child. I can not see where any court system would attempt to force me to pay for a child that is not mine. Where, to me, the principle comes into play is that opposing counsel does not believe the written proof provided of unavailable funds from her part, and therefore is attempting to go after me. Mayhap 'tis because I am a southerner or etc. but this though process of his rubs me all the wrong way, and In my opinion immoral.

From my 'crash course' self taught knowledge of NH law, I have been able to determine that my income is not relevant, based upon the statuate that I mentioned above... using that information, we have proved that she is NOT un/under employing herself, and therefore my income is nonadmissable. What throws me is that the ex's counsel continues to argue that my income should be reviewed. Call me an , but I will NOT let a third party, (much less the ex) in on my finances, or etc. Again, to me 'tis the principle.

I want to help my wife with this, but I refuse to be brought into this nasty battle of theirs. She has not only played by all the rules, but has gone above and beyond to attempt to make right, and to stay involved with the child. I hate sounding selfish, but I keep going back to the principle of the matter, at its root.

I again hope / pray that someone can recommend / point me to a pro-bono NH family specialist, as my ability to fight, or assist with these issues has reached the end of the financial rope.

Think about it this way...

They may not be able to compel you to produce the financial but in the absence of them, your wife might have a default order against her imputing her full income potential on her assuming that she isn't working as hard as she could be because your income cannot be verified.

It might be in the best interest of both you and your wife (since her payment, while you are not responsible for, will be felt by both of you) to produce what they are asking for.