Legal Question in Family Law in Minnesota

Re: Paternity/child support

Your question about paternity has two parts: First, is there something like a statute of limitations on paternity claims, and Second, whether back child support can be ordered.

The answer to your first question is that a paternity action can be brought at any time while a child is still a minor. Yes, the mother can bring a paternity action even after 14 years.

The question of child support is a little bit more complicated. At most, the court can only go back up to two years, and of course, the court can also award child support going forward. The court has some discretion when deciding how far back to go when ordering "back child support."

When deciding whether to award back child support, the court will consider a variety of factors -- whether you reasonably could have known the child was yours, whether you provided support in the past, the age of the child, whether you have other children you now support, and the amount of your income during the past two years, among other things. As a general rule, you stand a better chance of having back support ordered the older the child is at the time of paternity action, and if you had no knowledge of your possible relationship to the child before the paternity action.

If you have been served with a paternity action, or are about to be served, you should contact a lawyer to review the matter. You may contact me if you have further questions or concerns. My contact information is below.

Good luck, and again, thank you for your question.

Re: Paternity/child support

A paternity suit can be filed anytime up to 1 year after the child turns 18.

If paternity is established, then the court can order you to pay ongoing child support and, in addition, some amount for past support. Past support can only be collected for the 2-year period immediately preceding the commencement of the paternity suit. When the child in question is over 5 years old at the time the suit is commenced, however, the court can deviate downward from the child support amount that would otherwise be ordered under the statutory guidelines for past support.

Re: Paternity/child support

I just noticed a typo in my last posting that should be corrected. I wrote that you stand a better chance of having back support ordered if the child is older at the time of the paternity action. This should state that you have a better chance of getting a downward deviation (either in terms of amount or duration) if the child is older and you had no knowledge of your possible relationship with the child.

Re: Paternity/child support

In a paternity proceeding, they can only go back 2 years.

Herbert C. Kroon

Attorney at Law