Texas court orders man to pay child support but he is not the dad
Imagine receiving an order from a family law court telling you that you must pay child support for a kid that someone else fathered. If you had helped to raise and nurture this child, it might not come as a shock. However, if you had only met this child one time and had no personal ties at all, you might feel betrayed, angry and confused.
A Texas man is experiencing his own set of bewildering emotions after a family law court ordered him to pay $65,000 in back child support for a child who is not his. Reportedly, the man, who has three children and two nephews currently under his care, was not aware of the child’s existence until he received court papers in 2016. The mother of the child in question repeatedly insisted that this man fathered her child, but a DNA test proved otherwise.
Unfortunately, the DNA test did not end the father’s ordeal. In Texas, the family code mandates that purported fathers still owe any child support that accrued before the results of a paternity test.
Adding to the issues, the mother of the child alleges that funds were removed from the man’s paycheck some years ago without being contested. If it turns out that this is true and that the funds were used for child support, it could damage the man’s family law case.
Reportedly, the man and his attorney are seeking to have the case re-opened since he is unable to have the original order changed. This is a wise course of action for any Texas resident facing similar circumstances. Seeking a remedy right away is critical in solving the issue as quickly as possible.
Source: Fox News, “Texas man ordered to pay $65G in child support for kid who isn’t his,” July 23, 2017