Legal Question in Family Law in Louisiana
In shock
We just got a phone call from a woman my husband dated 14 years ago and out of the blue she tells him that she has a child by him who is 13 now. There is no proof of this. My husband was angry and wanted to know why she decided to tell us now. He is very suspicious of her and told her we did not have the money to pay for a child. She assured us she did not want any money, only for the child to know his father. My husband told her to leave us alone but we heard from her again 8 months later. This time she sent photo's that look nothing like my husband trying to put a guilt trip on him. My question is since my husband was never told of this birth and we have no proof of paternity, would Louisiana law force him to pay back child support? or force him to take a paternity test? This woman was married to another man and this other man's name is on the birth certificate and he also paid support for this child. We are really scared and upset that we will be taken to court. Any advice would be helpful.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: In shock
Louisiana law is very protective of the support rights of children, even those with crazy moms.
There are only two possibilities, either he is, or is not, the child's biological father. Generally, knowing the answer to this question is a good thing.
If he is not the father you have forced the mother out of your lives. If he is the father he can try to build a relationship with this boy and hopefully have a positive effect on his life.
As to child support, Louisiana law makes support obligations retroactive to "date of judicial demand" (in other words, the date a lawsuit was filed with the appropriate clerk of court) against the father. This probably was never (or recently) done, so the retroactive amount would be relatively small.
Contact the state "support enforcement" office. Their database should tell you if she has filed against any other "fathers" for support. There are women who have filed against a litany of fathers, hoping for a successful hit.
If this morass becomes too complicated contact a lawyer who practices family law.
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