If you’ve been served with child support papers, that doesn’t mean you’ll have to pay child support. There are some circumstances where you can avoid it. For example, if you aren’t sure whether you’re the child’s biological father, you have the option to contest paternity. That can give you a chance to cover your bases and address everything in the case the right way, from a legal standpoint. Having any paternity concerns means a paternity test should be the next step you take.
The Judge Will Order a Paternity Test
When you contest paternity, you tell the court that you don’t believe the child you’re being asked to pay support for is biologically yours. At that point, the judge will order a paternity test. The test results will give you and the other party to the child support case information about whether the child is yours or not. If the child isn’t yours, you can have the child support case against you dropped, as you’re not obligated to pay. If the child is yours, you’ll have established proof of that for your peace of mind.
The Initial Petition Response is the Right Time
The time to contest paternity is in the initial response to the petition for child support. You don’t want to wait until later in the process or after you’re supposed to start paying. That’s a much more precarious position, and it can be harder to have child support dismissed if you’ve already been paying it for some time. Instead of letting that happen, you’ll want to contest paternity as soon as you receive the initial petition immediately. An attorney can help you do that, so you’re sure to file everything correctly.
Work With an Attorney to Protect Your Rights
Protecting your rights in a child support case is extremely important. If there’s any potential that the child isn’t yours, you want to ask that the petition be dismissed. There’s no way the courts will accept a denial of paternity without the results of a valid paternity test. The faster you can get the test done, the sooner you can move forward with your life, no matter what the test results ultimately show. When working with an attorney, you can move through the process more efficiently.
Contact us today at Mohajer Law Firm to get the information you need about your rights in a child support case. We can help you get questions answered, request a paternity test, and address what’s fair and just in your situation. Whether you currently have a relationship with the child’s mother or weren’t even aware that there was a child in question, you have the right to verify that the child is yours. That will offer peace of mind and protect you from paying support for a child that’s not yours.