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akp224 · May 3, 2009, 04:14 PM

I've looked over a few topics but decided to ask for myself.

About a year and a half ago my friend Tom's ex got pregnant, they ended up breaking up. She told him he wasn't the father of her baby and pretty much to get lost. She cut off all ties to him, his family, or anyone else that had anything to do with Tom. Needless to say the baby was due sometime in July. He tried numerous times to contact her via phone and email and every time she ignored him. He got a text sometime in August saying the baby wasn't his and to leave her alone.

October rolls around and Tom's slapped in the face with court papers. He was ordered a DNA test. After taking it, it's another 4 months before he even hears anything. The woman called him in March, I'm guessing to find out what he was doing, "being nice" and saying the baby was his blah blah blah.

After that it got quiet again and 2 months later he's slapped in the face with support papers. He's currently in school and unemployed and somehow they're ordering him to pay 535.00 a month plus the back child support. Not only that he never received his court papers.

The papers were filed in Texas.
He lives in Tennessee.
She now lives in Louisianna.

My questions are;

1) The job income they're going by he hasn't had for over 8 months. Shouldn't the courts have called and confirmed his income before deciding this? How can he go about getting it refigured?

2) He says he wants nothing to do with the child. He knows it was his doing though and he doesn't mind paying child support but how is he expected to do so when he's in boot camp with no income? He's looking into signing away his rights but I've heard most parents are denied that.

3) She recently got married and moved out of state, does that change anything?

Any and all advice is appreciated.

J_9 · May 3, 2009, 04:16 PM

akp224 · May 3, 2009, 04:26 PM

Sorry about that.

Also, I wanted to add that he lives in a different state as well.

The papers were filed in Texas
She lives in Louisianna now.
He lives in Tennessee

ScottGem · May 3, 2009, 04:29 PM

1) Yes, if he was not served properly then he can request a new hearing where he can present proof of income. However it sounds like he may have ignored notices he received since they knew where to contact him.

2) Yes, he will not be granted a termination of parental rights normally.

3) But this becomes the key. What he needs to do is file for custody and visitation. If she has married and doesn't want him in their life, then she can have her husband adopt and that will end his obligation, at least for futre support.

But as long as he does't push contact, she gets support and has no incentive to stop it.

akp224 · May 3, 2009, 04:34 PM

Actually they didn't.
He called once she contacted him in February.
The courts then changed his address..
The only thing he ever received was the DNA test (he lived in Texas then) and then the Child Support papers here in Tennessee.

ScottGem · May 3, 2009, 04:37 PM

Like I said, if he can show he wasn't served, then he can get a new hearing.

But the bottomline is, he is the father and owes support. The question is only how much and for how long.

Fr_Chuck · May 3, 2009, 04:55 PM

He can go back to court and get the amount changed based on his current income.

He can ask for visitatin rights

Unless the women's new husband wants to adopt, he can't just sign over his rights.

It may be when he moved, they served papers to old address and have just found him.