Legal Question in Family Law in Illinois
My husband found out almost 3 yrs ago that he has an 11yr old (now almost 14)
The mother of the child lied about who was the father,because she wanted to be with her ex. She decided she wanted to get everything off her chest,so she told everyone the truth. Her ex is on child support for the child that's not really his and the child they had together. My husband has been in is sons life since the day he was told the truth. He has his son come over to spend time with the family(we have a daughter of our own)at least a weekend a month and talks to him on the phone a couple times a week. His son wants his last name changed to his fathers last name. So our question is, is there danger in being put on child support and having to pay all the back pay the other guy has not paid? She claims she doesn't want to put my husband on child support. We do help financially aswell so we don't think thats the case. We just want to make sure it would be a good idea to go ahead and do the name change. I don't believe my husband should pay the back pay since he had no idea he had a child.
-Does my husband have to pay back the back pay on his sons child support?( The other man did sign the birth certificate)
-How do we go about changing the last name?Is it possible since someone elses name is on his birth certificate?
-Is there anything we should be worried about?
1 Answer from Attorneys
When the mother's husband signed the birth certificate did he also sign a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity, or "VAP"? That could be very important. Was the child born in Illinois? Without more information it appears that your husband will not be obligated to pay child support for this child. Even if the mother somehow overcomes the many obsticles in the way of establishing support against your husband it is doubtful it would be retroactive beyond the date she files her support petition.
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