Legal Question in Family Law in California

Child support request 12 years after mom and child disappeared

Twelve years ago, the mother of my child remarried and moved out of state. Shortly after, she called and said I would never see my child again. Neither of us ever located or attempted to locate each other. I had just recently decided to locate him, now 17, and passed my phone number through a person who said he could contact them. I have never heard from the mother or child, but two weeks later I received a message on my answering machine from a child support agency. I am unsure if it was government or private. I mislocated the telephone number of the agency and I still do not know what state they are in. Should I be required to pay child support and if so, could I have to pay back support even though an order for support was never sought nor did I ever give it?


Asked on 6/02/01, 11:34 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
PATRICK MCCRARY PATRICK MCCRARY

Re: Child support request 12 years after mom and child disappeared

You did not state whether there had been any child support order entered. If a child support order was entered, yes you owe the back support, however, you may have some defenses to enforcement since you did not know where the child was. If no child support order has been entered it cannot be entered retroactively, in California, unless the mother was on welare, in which case it can be entered retroactively for three years. If you have only lived in California, then California is the only state which can order you to pay child support. Good Luck, Pat McCrary

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Answered on 6/27/01, 11:50 am


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