Legal Question in Family Law in California
I'm in need of help. I hhad twins with a man six years ago who decided to move away and an agreement was made there is no fathers name on the birth certificate and no one will ever know these are his children. I am not to speak his name to anyone in return he will pay me child support every month. This has been consistant for six years. His family got word of my daughters and questioned him. He is now threatening to fight for half custody of my daughters in an attempt to lower his child support. He figures since the truth is out he may as well go to court to get the lowest payments possible. He informed me the more he has my daughters the less he will have to pay. I have been remarried since my twins were one year old and my husband is the only father they know. How true are the threats in regard to visitation and custody. Is there anything I can do
3 Answers from Attorneys
I am assuming you are operating under a court ordered child support arrangement and that the children were not born during your current marriage. In this senario, father can petition to have a parenting relationship with the twins however, time share would be carefully structured for the children's best interests. Since the father as been absent most of the children's lives, any timeshare would be limited and slow to develop. I urge you to meet with an experienced family law attorney to explore your legal options.
Has he established paternity or signed a declaration of paternity at some point? Has an order for child support been issued and signed by a judge? If he is paying by agreement between you two, he doesn't have to continue paying you anything. It may be in your children's best interest to explore the possibility of a stepparent adoption. He would no longer pay support, because your husband's name would be on the re-issued birth certificates. For information on stepparent adoptions, visit http://www.ellifritzlaw.com
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
