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. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
MI: Duped 'dads' seek relief - Legislation would reform rules on who pays child support to protect men forced to provide for nonbiological kids
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...TICS/603200361
Duped 'dads' seek relief Legislation would reform rules on who pays child support to protect men forced to provide for nonbiological kids. Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News Steven Simpkins / Special to The Detroit News Having shelled out $80,000 in child support for a child who isn't biologically his, Doug Richardson is fighting so other men don't find themselves in the same situation. Legislation pending in Lansing would require courts to withdraw child support orders when DNA tests prove that people are paying support to children who aren't biologically theirs. Should dads like Doug Richardson be forced to pay child support for children who aren't their own? Over 15 years, Doug Richardson shelled out an estimated $80,000 in child support for a boy who genetic tests have shown is not biologically his. To make matters worse, he says he's had to pay support to his ex-wife and the boy's biological father when the two were together -- then to the biological father after the couple split. "This has torn me up for 15 years," said Richardson, 40, who has been trying to get a judge to free him of his court-ordered payments. "I've had to file bankruptcy. I have back taxes. It has destroyed my life." Richardson is heading to court this week to change a situation that activists say numerous men face. Bills in the state Legislature seek to provide relief, including one that would require courts to withdraw child support orders when DNA tests prove that people are paying support to children who aren't biologically theirs. Similar laws have been passed in at least 12 states. For now, the issue is in the hands of family court judges who make decisions based on the child's best interests. Many fathers say judges aren't on their side, even when science is. It is devastating for fathers to learn that a child they loved as their own is not theirs, say those who support changes in state law. But, to require these men to be financially obligated is morally wrong and is similar to jailing innocent people who have been set free in recent years by DNA tests, they say. "New laws are desperately needed in Michigan to provide protection and relief to men who have been duped, unintentionally or not, by mothers who choose who they wish to be the legal fathers of their children," said Murray Davis, a Southfield activist and father. "Michigan remains among a group of unenlightened states that continue to 'aid and abet' fraudulent paternity establishments." Issue is complex Groups that work on behalf of women receiving child support agree this is a complex issue that can be unfair to the father and child. But they worry most about the children. "Obviously, if someone is not the father of a child, they should not be financially obligated to pay," said Debbie Klein of the Virginia-based Association for Children for the Enforcement of Support. "But how can a judge order someone not to pay child support and know that child is going to be plunged into poverty? "This is an issue where there is no one correct answer." But there is a simple solution, said Davis, who founded DADS of Michigan after he fought having to pay child support to his ex-wife when he learned his former best friend fathered two of their three children during their 18-year marriage. The mother should be required to identify the biological father, so he can pay the child support, he said. The putative father should be given the option to continue his relationship as a dad without financial obligation. And, the child should be told the truth about who the biological father is, Davis said. "The state of Michigan should be holding the mothers accountable," he said. "But, they don't do that." 'It's an injustice' Rep. LaMar Lemmons III, D-Detroit, has introduced legislation for the second time to address this issue. Though a bill he introduced two years ago died in a Senate committee, he hopes this time it has a better chance of passing. "It's an injustice to be forced to pay for a child that isn't yours," he said. Child support was created for children from broken families so they wouldn't have to live in poverty. A noncustodial parent, who most often is the father, is required to pay the support until the child reaches 18 or graduates from high school, whichever occurs later. A man becomes a legal father in Michigan when he is married to the mother at conception or birth or signs a voluntary affidavit of parentage, typically at the hospital when the child is born, said Marilyn Stephen, director of the Office of Child Support in the Michigan Department of Human Services. In cases in which it is uncertain who the father is when a child is conceived out of wedlock, a mother can file a paternity lawsuit against the man in question. He is given the option of taking a genetic test to establish paternity. If the tests show the man is not the father, the suit is dismissed. When the test shows that the man is the father, an order for child support follows. There were 9,700 genetic tests administered last year to establish paternity, the results of which eliminated 27 percent of the men who were thought to be the parents of children conceived out of wedlock, according to the Office of Child Support. Cases seeking child support orders were dismissed against those men. But those genetic tests were done on one-fifth of the 46,000 children born out of wedlock last year. The majority of those births were acknowledged by both parents, and fathers groups say most of the time there's no DNA testing. Stephen said she is aware there are some cases of men paying child support for children who are not biologically theirs, but her office doesn't track them. She suspects there aren't many among the state's million cases of child support orders. Finding out by accident Activists for fathers, however, believe there are more cases of paternity fraud than are reported, pointing out that DNA tests are done on only a fraction of people who bear children every year. Often, fathers just don't know and find out by accident. That was the case for Shane Shamie, a Rockwood man who was married for nearly 10 years before he found out the daughter they had four years into their marriage wasn't his. "My heart sank," said Shamie, who had a DNA test to confirm his suspicions that he wasn't the biological father. Still, he has continued to support his daughter financially and emotionally since divorcing her mother. . "When you are in a position like I've been put in, a person has to make a decision that's not in your own best interests," said Shamie. "It's in the best interest of your kids." Other fathers, like Michael Williams of Detroit, agree they don't mind being a parent to a child they raised, but they want out of their financial obligation. "I don't think it's fair for me to be held responsible for children who are not mine," said Williams, who had seven children with his high school sweetheart, whom he married. But, he later learned through DNA tests that only two of the children are his. It's unfair to financially support a child that is not yours, Richardson said. He was a father for less than five years when he learned his son wasn't his biological child. Richardson got married when he was 19 after his then-girlfriend told him she was pregnant with his child. The couple had a second son during the marriage who is biologically Richardson's. Richardson learned before their divorce that another man was the father of the first son, and DNA tests confirmed it in 1992. Richardson's ex-wife declined to comment. Her attorney, Robert Dunn of Bay City, said too much time has elapsed for Richardson to get any relief. "It is strong public policy in Michigan to quickly resolve the issue of parentage and not allow the issue to dangle for years and years. It's unfair to the children." Richardson said he is also working to change the laws so other men don't go through what he has endured. "This has got to come to an end," he said. "It's just a continuing case of fraud that is costing me dearly." |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
MI: Duped 'dads' seek relief - Legislation would reform rules on who pays child support to protect men forced to provide for nonbiological kids
Good for him!!!! Enough of this bull****
|
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Paternity Fraud - US Supreme Court | Wizardlaw | Child Support | 12 | June 4th 04 02:19 AM |
Sample Supreme Court Petition | Wizardlaw | Child Support | 0 | January 16th 04 03:47 AM |
| | Kids should work... | Kane | General | 13 | December 10th 03 02:30 AM |
Kids should work. | LaVonne Carlson | General | 22 | December 7th 03 04:27 AM |
Kids should work. | ChrisScaife | Foster Parents | 16 | December 7th 03 04:27 AM |