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Carson man's child support crusade pays off
Carson man's child support crusade pays off
Governor signs bill, championed by Bert Riddick, that allows men to fight paternity awards when DNA shows they aren't the father. By Michael Gardner Copley News Service SACRAMENTO -- With a stroke of his pen, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger handed Bert Riddick his life back. Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed legislation making it easier for men to challenge paternity rulings that force them to pay child support even though DNA evidence later proves they are not the father. "I'm stunned right now," said Riddick of Carson, when told his 10-year crusade had succeeded. "Boy oh boy. This is incredible." Riddick said he has been paying $1,400 a month since 1994 to support a girl who he has never met and claims not to have fathered. That's money taken from his three biological children, Riddick said, in explaining his tireless work to change the law. "My kids are the real victims," Riddick said. "They're taking my money and giving it to another kid." Riddick also feels sorry for the young girl he's been supporting. A girl who "will never know her true father" and will never learn whether she's at higher risk of certain inherited diseases, Riddick said. Under current law, men ordered to pay child support generally have little recourse even if they could later prove that another man was the father. Judges were reluctant to stop payments out of fear of harming the children. The measure that will go into effect Jan. 1 establishes a new procedure for challenging paternity, including informing the man of his right to genetic testing. Challenges could be raised within two years of being ordered to pay child support, or within two years of the child's birth, under Assembly Bill 252. The measure takes into account older cases like Riddick's, offering him renewed hope. Riddick has been practically a one-man lobbying campaign in the Capitol to overturn the law since 1998. He walked the halls, pounded on doors and fired off e-mails to bring awareness to his cause. He found a champion in then-Assemblyman Rod Wright, D-Los Angeles, who carried legislation to reform the system, challenging opponents who said the measure could hurt children who have come to rely on the financial aid and it could harm them emotionally if bonds are severed along with the checks. One of the biggest problems, say some men who have joined Riddick's cause, is the fact that judges will enter default judgments that side with the woman because the man did not receive notice of the hearing. In testimony before lawmakers, Riddick has detailed a hellish existence, being forced to change jobs, shortchange his children and sell his house to afford court-ordered child support even though "DNA has proven she is not mine." Armed with the new law, Riddick plans to reopen his case at the start of the new year. "For me," he reflected softly, "it means I get my life back." -- ------------------------------------------------------------ Eliminate the impossible and whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. ---- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle --- |
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