Legal Question in Family Law in Missouri

seperate paternity count

I live in Missouri and I filed for a divorce on my own. The other day I received a letter from the county in which I filed it stating the following: ''If a minor child's birth date is before the marriage, a seperate paternity count is required with the child as a named party in the caption''. Does anyone know what this means?


Asked on 9/03/02, 1:19 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael R. Nack Michael R. Nack, Attorney at Law

Re: seperate paternity count

Apparently at least one of your children was born before your marriage. If so, then your husband is not the legal father of such a child, in fact such a child has no legal father. A divorce court could not grant you custody of such a child in the divorce or order your husband to pay any child support. I have had many such cases, and I often include a separate count in my Petition for Dissolution of Marriage seeking a Determination of Paternity. Then the court can find that your husband is the father of the child or children born before the marriage and make appropriate orders concerning custody, visitation, child support and so on. From the sounds of it, it certainly looks like you need the services of an attorney. If you are not already represented, you may call me for a free telephone consultation at 314-727-2822.

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Answered on 9/04/02, 8:06 pm


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