Legal Question in Family Law in Pennsylvania
Hello from PA, ex-gf and i had RO's on each other dismissed and civil agreement in place she is due to give birth this month, she cannot contact me and vice versa via phone, text, email or social media or come to each others homes. We are in our early 20's. Civil agreement states I will have a paternity test within 30 days of birth of child and her father will arrange for me to meet the baby before paternity test results are in. They have money for a lawyer, I or my family do not. I plan on going to the welfare office in that county to get a paternity test and talk to them about filing for visitation, would that be the best course of action? My other concern is that she does not declare her income at her regular job as a personal assistant to a couple who are married and dr's. She also runs 2 small businesses which she has referenced on Facebook, Linkedin and Skillpages.com her father owns section 8 housing and she said because she makes her money under the table she is going to apply for one where she and the baby will live, will this make things harder on me as far of child support? I'm disappointed in myself because I am not a money earner but she knew this even though her family is wealthy. When her parents found out she was pregnant they told her to give the child up for adoption and put me down for not making great money, strange because she and her sister are adopted. I am an only child and I am upset thinking things will go downhill quickly when the child is born and am upset for my parents as well as grandparents we could go a very long time before we get to see the baby and spend time with the baby. I'm sorry this is long but any advice?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Thank you for your question. If a paternity test proves that you are the father, you will be entitled to visitation. But, you cannot request a paternity test until the baby is born. In the event that the paternity test proves that you are the father, you will be required to pay child support, and in Pennsylvania, the law holds both parents responsible for the support of their child (or, children). Therefore, the income of both you and the mother of the child are taken into account in determining the amount of any child support Order. Income of the grandparents is not taken into account in the child support computation.
If you are determined to be the father and are served with a Complaint for Child Support, I strongly suggest that you get concrete proof of your ex girlfriend's income from her other paying jobs, otherwise you will be held responsible for the full amount of child support. You can get proof of her income, whether or not she reports it, by reporting to the Court that she runs 2 businesses and by asking the Court to issue a Subpoena for each person that your ex-girlfriend works for and receives wages. A Subpoena has the same effect as a Court Order, so failure of a person to provide the information requested in the Subpoena is punishable by Contempt of Court and jail time of up to 6 months.
With respect to the businesses she runs, it is best that you get as much information as you can and get printouts of any advertising she does on Facebook, LinkedIn, Skillpages.com, and any other website you find or hear about. From a strategic standpoint, it would be best not to say anything about these businesses until you get to Court. Allow her to testify that she earns no money and has no income. Then, when it is your turn to present your side of the case, you can present the income information from the people who pay her and on whom you served the Subpoenas and the information you obtained from the websites. The element of surprise will work in your favor and will make the Court see her in a different light and cast doubt on anything she says thereafter.
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