A Parenting & kids forum. ParentingBanter.com

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » ParentingBanter.com forum » alt.support » Child Support
Site Map Home Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Child-support claim of daughter, now 21, reaches back to birth



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old February 21st 04, 04:50 PM
PrchrdnS
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Child-support claim of daughter, now 21, reaches back to birth

http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/...8_20040217.htm

Child-support claim of daughter, now 21, reaches back to birth
February 17, 2004, 2:38 PM


GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) -- The Michigan Court of Appeals has upheld a lower
court's ruling that a local pharmacist owes a lump-sum child-support payment to
a 21-year-old daughter he never has met and, until four years ago, did not know
he had fathered.

A Grand Rapids lawyer representing the father, Kent Balliet, said her client
could end up owing the woman more than $100,000.

"This is going to turn paternity cases on their heads," attorney Amy Rademaker
said.

Balliet, 41, said his daughter, Heather Clough, resulted from a brief college
fling in spring 1982. He said he did not know she was his child until her
maternal grandparents, who also are her legal guardians, sued him from Florida
in August 1998.

"I can't even tell you the color of her eyes," Balliet told The Grand Rapids
Press for a story published Tuesday.

After a blood test confirmed that he was her biological father, Balliet made
weekly child-support payments of $200 to $250 for 31/2 years until Clough
graduated from Fort Myers (Fla.) North High School in 2001.

Then, Clough turned 18 and sued Balliet on her own, claiming that he owed her
support dating to the day of her birth in January 1983.

Last week, the state appeals court affirmed a decision by Kent County Circuit
Judge Paul Sullivan in favor of the daughter's claim. The issue of how much
money Balliet must pay Clough probably will be determined at a hearing in Kent
County Family Court.

"Now, a mom can say, "I'm not going to deal with dad, with parenting time or
any other of those troubling issues until my kid turns 18,' and she can file a
lawsuit for the total amount in bulk," Rademaker said. "It will plunge
unsuspecting men into debt. This is a crushing blow because of what it means
statewide. It's huge."

The law usually does not allow responsibility for child support to go on
forever, said Kristine Mullendore, an associate professor of legal studies at
Grand Valley State University and a former assistant Kent County prosecutor.

Under paternity laws, the statute of limitations generally caps claims at 6
years. But the window of opportunity for the daughter to make her claim as a
new adult was one year after turning 18, which Clough met, according to the
Court of Appeals.

The daughter said she is not interested in setting a legal precedent.

"I'd much rather have had a relationship with my father, but sometimes it can't
be that way," said Clough, who now lives in a Fort Myers duplex near her
grandparents' home. "I've never seen him, not even a picture of him."

She was raised by grandparents Larry and Suzane Clough from age 5, when her
mother was declared mentally disabled. Becky Sue Clough was diagnosed with
schizophrenia and made a ward of her parents, her daughter said.

Heather Clough said she discovered her father's address on the Internet four
years ago and briefly exchanged e-mail messages with him. She said it appeared
for a time he was interested in meeting her.

Then Balliet wrote her to say their conversations had been a mistake, she said.
That was when her grandparents filed for child support.

"I have a father who didn't want anything to do with me," Clough said. "My
mother had told me that's how it was, but I had my family who loved me. I'm not
a bitter person. Life is too short."
  #2  
Old February 21st 04, 06:34 PM
Tiffany
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Child-support claim of daughter, now 21, reaches back to birth

Hey, wasn't this article already posted?

T
PrchrdnS wrote in message
...
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/...8_20040217.htm

Child-support claim of daughter, now 21, reaches back to birth
February 17, 2004, 2:38 PM





  #3  
Old February 21st 04, 06:34 PM
Tiffany
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Child-support claim of daughter, now 21, reaches back to birth

Hey, wasn't this article already posted?

T
PrchrdnS wrote in message
...
http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/...8_20040217.htm

Child-support claim of daughter, now 21, reaches back to birth
February 17, 2004, 2:38 PM





  #4  
Old February 22nd 04, 08:07 PM
Robert Besserer
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Child-support claim of daughter, now 17.years old living in Quebec

I have a daughter that is now going to be 18 years old on June of this year.
She dosens't work or go to school. She is very lazy. The question I have is
do I have to continue to pay support after the age of 18. She lives in the
povince of Quebec, Canada.

I await your reply..

Bob


  #5  
Old February 22nd 04, 08:07 PM
Robert Besserer
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Child-support claim of daughter, now 17.years old living in Quebec

I have a daughter that is now going to be 18 years old on June of this year.
She dosens't work or go to school. She is very lazy. The question I have is
do I have to continue to pay support after the age of 18. She lives in the
povince of Quebec, Canada.

I await your reply..

Bob


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
misc.kids FAQ on Breastfeeding Past the First Year [email protected] Info and FAQ's 0 April 17th 04 12:24 PM
misc.kids FAQ on Breastfeeding Past the First Year [email protected] Info and FAQ's 0 March 18th 04 10:11 AM
Sample US Supreme Court Petition Wizardlaw Child Support 28 January 21st 04 07:23 PM
Helping Your Child Be Healthy and Fit sX3#;WA@'U John Smith Kids Health 0 July 20th 03 04:50 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 11:13 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 ParentingBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.