If you are going through a divorce, the end of a relationship, or a child support case, you may be wondering how your case will be affected if you are currently paying child support but have suspicions that you are not the father.
Many parents are unaware that to obtain court ordered child support, paternity will need to be established. Figuring out who the child’s father is may be more complicated than many families think. This is, in part, because there are so many potential family dynamics out there.
Establishing Paternity in Louisiana
The process of establishing paternity is used when the Louisiana family courts need to determine who a child’s biological father is. Only after paternity has been established will the courts give the child’s father their rights and responsibilities to the child.
This means that unless the court system has officially recognized you as being the child’s father, you do not have any legal obligation to spend quality time with them, enjoy child custody or visitation rights, or have any duty to pay child support to the child’s parent.
The only way child support orders can be issued is if either parent asks the court to intervene. If this happens, the first step in getting a child support order is to establish paternity.
Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity
Many people are quick to assume that the only way to establish paternity is by getting a DNA test. But for unmarried parents, a biological father has the opportunity to acknowledge their paternity voluntarily and in writing. This is often referred to as a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity affidavit, or an affidavit of parentage.
If both parents agree that this is the child’s father, and the father voluntarily acknowledges their paternity, they may be ordered to pay child support until the child reaches that legal age limit. This is often true even if it is later determined through a DNA test that the father was not the child’s biological parent.
Alleged Father
The alleged father is any man who is unmarried who the court believes could be the biological father of a child. The alleged father is often named by one parent attempting to establish paternity in the hopes of obtaining a Louisiana child support order.
Some alleged fathers will attempt to avoid having to submit to a DNA test to avoid having to pay child support. But if you fail to reply to the petition, then a default judgment could be issued against you, and the judge may determine that you are the child’s father without having to obtain an official DNA test.
Under LA Civ Code 141, both of a child’s biological parents have an obligation to provide them with the financial support that they need. For this reason, in cases where One parent is seeking public assistance, The state will require them to pursue paternity establishment and a child support case to ensure that the alleged father is held accountable financially as well.
Presumed Father
Under LA Civ Code 185, in Louisiana, when a couple is married, any children born while the couple is married are presumed to be the biological children of the husband.
If a married man has reason to believe that they are not the biological father of a child, they may be able to disprove paternity by filing a request with the Louisiana family courts.
It is important to take steps to review presumed paternity if you hope to avoid being ordered to pay child support for a child that is not biologically yours.
Stepfather
A stepfather is a mother’s spouse. But there is no financial obligation under Louisiana law that requires a stepfather to financially support his wife’s children. However, if you hope to adopt your wife’s children, then you may become financially obligated to them, even if you and your spouse wind up divorcing later on.
Equitable Parent
There have been many situations in which a person who is not a biological or adoptive parent of the child may be deemed an equitable parent. Equitable parents are a concept that describes a close relationship between a parent and a child, and consider themselves to be a parent and child, despite not being biologically related or having been through adoption.
By establishing yourself as an equitable parent, you may be able to obtain your child custody or visitation rights. But equitable parents may also be ordered to pay child support, as parents of children do have a financial obligation to them.
Is There a Child Support Order in Place?
Ultimately, if there is not a child support order in place, you will not be obligated under the law to continue paying child support. The only way that a child support order can be established is if paternity is also established.
If paternity has been established in your case, through any of the following ways above, and a New Orleans or Louisiana family court has determined that you are the child’s paternal father, or otherwise financially responsible for them, then a child support order may be issued.
If a child support order is in place, even if you are not the child’s biological father, the court has found you financially responsible for them as a paternal parent. For this reason, you will need to continue paying child support until the child reaches the age of eighteen, or while they are still in high school, until they reach the age of nineteen.
Contact a Family Law Attorney in New Orleans Today
If you have a paying child support, and you suspect that you are not the child’s biological father, or that you should otherwise not be financially obligated to support the child, you need an experienced New Orleans family law attorney to take on your case.
Contact Stephenson, Chávarri & Dawson to schedule your no-risk case review today. You can give our office a call at 504-523-6496 or fill out our convenient contact form when you are ready to get started on your case.
