I'm not really sure if anybody can help me with this but last year was one of the worst here for me and my husband well, me especially.I've been married to my husband for 8 years now and have 4 beautiful kids together... my husband cheated on me with some girl he was smoking crack with.. he was gone all the time and when he was home its because he was calming down of his drugs and he needed somewhere to sleep because the girl he was with lived with everybody didn't really have a home anyway on February of this year he finally decided to come clean with me I guess he was tired of bulltin me and his kids and he was tired of his life going down hill so anyway she kept calling my house harassing me,emailing my husband telling him how much she loves him I was just tired of her my husband told me it was just drugs and that's it so we haven't heard from her for a long time and come to find out she's in jail so I thought okay all this night mare is finally over well not really we got this lettler that she's filing child support on my husband which that nearly killed me cause I didn't know she was pregnant anyway my husband has been clean for 2 months now and is trying to get his life together.. his not working because of his backround nobody wants to hire him does he still have to pay child support even though his not working??

Sentences and punctuation are your friend.

If he is the biological father and the court proves it (DNA test), yes, he will be required to pay support regardless of his job status. He will likely be required to pay state minimum. Some states he will be required to pay based off your household income (your salary) but please check that with the state that you live.

Bottom line: his drug issues and background do not absolve him of responsibility to his potential child.

Edit to add: if the baby isn't born yet than the court cannot proceed. Who did the letter come from?

No he will not have to pay child support if he is not working. Once the court order him to find a job then he will once paternity is established.

Is she still in jail? Will she be when the baby is born?
If he is proven the father, will he take custody of this child?

First thing that needs to be figured out is paternity.

How far along is she?

Sorry if my story doesn't make sense I'm at work and I was in rush but thanks and the lettler came from some child support agency I think she's still in jail I don't know

It took a few reads to get it.

'Some child support agency'. Sounds fishy. He needs to be brought to court and have paternity proven before child support is going to be due. If she is still in jail then he might have to pay support but it won't be to her.

First things first though - has the baby even been born?

I gather she has named him as the father and they are giving him/you both a heads up that this is coming.

Ask for a paternity test, but don't get your hopes up.
I'm betting he's the father. I would be amazed if he hadn't know about this for some time.

It's extremely unlikely he will get off paying nothing. How much is the question.

When is she due?
How did she end up in jail?

Cathy, put yourself and your 4 children first in your decisions from here on out. You need to protect your family. In my opinion, your husband can no longer be relied on to do that. So if you have to choose between his interests and yours/the kids', go with your kids.

Ok, he needs to see if this is a state inforcement agency.

He has the right to appear in front of the judge, have the DNA proven, a drug addict is likely to have been sleeping with many men.

But if he is the father, yes the court can order child support according to your state ( or nation) law. And yes he will still have a min amount due even if he is not working

But I will ask, if he has been trying to change his life for 2 months why is he not working, at least even a min wage job.

My understanding is that they can perform DNA testing using the mothers DNA (when unborn) . What I don't know if it will hold up in court or if they need to do it on the born child. He will have to pay if it is determined to be his.
No getting out of this one.

If you have any questions about the child support guidelines you should contact your child support agency or an attorney

I think the bigger problem is not this but your husband. He is a crack addict who slept with this woman. That you know of. Who knows how many other and obviously no condom.

What happens if he infects you? AIDS? He goes back to crack, you die and your kids? I hope I am not going overboard, but I am sure you did not think he would get addicted to crack, be with another woman, who is in jail now, and she gets pregnant. Anything is possible isn't it.

I agree with ASKING "you need to protect your family"

Good luck

They can, but they won't for establishing paternity. An amniocentesis is dangerous for the baby and in some cases cause the fetus to abort.

I think you had it confuse. For a paternity test they do need the baby DNA, and all because the mother is pregnant, her DNA is different from the baby. A DNA test can only be perform once the child is born otherwise a needle will be stuck in the moms stomach to get the baby's DNA, as mention above, and no court will order such test.

You stated they both was on drugs so they both might have been unware of things. He needs to find out what is going on and since he isn't working he has plenty of time to do so. Reread the letter because it should have some indication on where it came from and then start from there. I am not sure but the court might and should take into consideration that he does have 4 other kids to support when calcuating how much he would've to pay for child support.

Also, as already mention, a DNA will be done first and who knows he might not be the dad but be prepare for anything. In the meantime, with the way things are going and with a family to support he needs a job regardless if it is at McDonald's. Something is better than nothing.