If a court has ordered you to pay child support, and has not modified the order since, you must pay child support. A court may order you to pay child support if:
You are the child's biological parent.
You are an adoptive parent.
You're a father who has acknowledged paternity of a child.
You're a father who has established paternity with a genetic test.
Generally, the parent with the bigger income will be asked to pay child support to a parent with a smaller income, or who spends most of the time with the children. Both men and women can be asked to pay child support. Child support ends when the child reaches majority (usually age 18), joins the military, marries, is adopted or is legally emancipated from the parents.
You must pay child support even if you never married the other parent, even if you believe the other parent already has enough money, and even if the other parent is not allowing your legally required visitation. If you are being asked to support your biological child, but believe the child is not yours, you can ask the court to conduct paternity tests. If the tests show you are not the father, you will not have to pay child support.
Answered by
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Nov 7, 2011 05:06 PM
