Legal Question in Family Law in New Jersey
After 15 yrs
After 15 yrs my child's father is requesting a paternity test every time an increase in child support is brought up. I have never requested a modification until now. For almost a year he said he was going to get the test done and never did. He denied paternity in front of our child over and over again even after he has visitation rights and she has his last name. This has made our child so confused. I recently paid for the paternity test with the ''so called'' alleged father and the test came back that he was excluded. I want to know if the courts will have hime to reimburse the fee back to me and is this some type of harrassment towards our child. For years my child and I have dealt with the drama and headaches. All this because of additional child support. I even tried to work arrangements out with him for years with no solution. Please advise
3 Answers from Attorneys
Negating paternity status after 15 years
If the test indicates that he is "excluded" that means to me that he is not the biological father and he is technically correct. I say technically because the Court would likely still require him to support your daughter because he has done nothing in 15 years officially to deny his paternity, at least from the Court's perspective. It appears from the information that you have provided that he is liable to continue to support her until she is emancipated.
Keep in mind that this advice is given based on the little bit of information that you have provided in your question. My advice may change based on other information. Further, no one can rely on advice from an attorney who has not been retained. You cannot rely on this advice because we have not personally met and you have not retained me as an attorney. If you have not already done so, you should immediately meet with a Family Law attorney for a full consultation before you take any further steps. Good luck! Rob Gleaner
Re: After 15 yrs
The father's behavior in front of the child can only be characterized as abusive. He should be made to choose between avoiding such conduct and losing visitation with the child.
I doubt that the Court will order that the father reimburse you for the cost of the dna test.
I would think that you might consider asking for retroactive increase of child support because he did not file before to avoid the father's misconduct.
Gary Moore, Esquire
Hackensack, New Jersey
www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com
Re: After 15 yrs
I ran into an issue that is a little different, but through the research for that case, I have found cases where the Court kept the child support order in place even though the father was excluded because the child has always known this person to be its father. This is all going off my memory so you should get an attorney to do the proper research to make sure I am correct and that the case applies to your set of facts. Getting retroactive child support is really tough and I have never had a client pay it (when I represent the noncustodial parent) but Mr. Gleaner does bring up a good issue, that the abuse prevented you from asking for a modification. I think a lot of that will depend on luck, i.e. who the judge is.
As always, I suggest you get a lawyer to help you with this.
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