Legal Question in Family Law in Indiana
Paternity testing
My friend has been notified of a contempt hearing due to back child support. The motion was filed by the prosecutor's office because the mother received state aid for the child for about $4,500.
The prosecutor said that the mother does not want to pursue support, but that the case will go forward to reimburse the state.
The mother moved out of Indiana years ago with the child. She nor the child has not had any contact with my friend. He does not know where she lives. He does not know if he is the father or not. Before the mother left he asked for a paternity test, which was never done, because she left Indiana.
Does he have to pay? Can he try to establish paternity? Or is there some type of time limitation to file such a case? And can he get the mother's address from the prosecutor's office? He is not sure if he is on the birth certificate or not. He also does not know if he ever paid any support. Will payment of support hurt or help his case?
He is willing to pay the support, but only if he is proven to be the child's father.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Paternity testing
Your friend has a LOT of unanswered questions, so it's pretty tough to give him any specific legal advice.
He doesn't know if he's the father. He doesn't know if paternity has been established. He doesn't know the status of the case.
I really would suggest that he hire a lawyer to sort all this out and find out the answers to his questions and THEN give him some legal advice.
Sounds like a tough situation. This problem will not go away on its own. He needs to be proactive in resolving it, even if it costs him some money now.
Best of luck to him!
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