What rights does a father have?
Hello,
My son (now 25 yrs old) dated a girl (now 24 yrs old) for a year or so. She discovered she was pregnant, quit her job (here in Florida) and moved to be with her parents in Tennessee approximately 6 months before the baby was born. (The baby is now 3 months old)
My son felt like their relationship was not very stable, but he quit his job, left the four generations of family he has in FL and moved to TN to be near her and the baby. The girl lives with her parents, and when my son first moved to TN, he also stayed with her parents.
The baby was born April 2008 and there was a battle from Day 1.
1.) The girl didn't want her baby to have my son's last name or my son's name on the birth certificate. They argued and eventually she gave in, but her parents threw my son out of their home over it! (The parents evidently wanted to, at most, have a hyphenated last name)
2.) My son moved into his own apartment and the girl allowed my son to see the baby sporadically, at best. She always demanded that if he wanted to see his son, he'd have to "pay for it" by giving her "X" amount of dollars. He would pay her "X" amount, she'd write him a handwritten receipt, and he'd get to see the baby that day.
3.) The girl now demands an amount he cannot afford. He isn't allowed to see the baby until he pays her first.
4.) She claims she has already gone to Child Support Enforcement and plans to take him to court for a set amount every week, which is fine, but the girl says she wants retroactive child support back to the child's birth.
What are the laws in TN regarding retroactive child support? What rights do the fathers have in TN?
My son has no problem paying her child support every week or month, but she is demanding way more than he can afford to pay and is unable to see his son until this is sorted out.
Thanks so much!