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

Carson man's child support crusade pays off



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old September 30th 04, 10:40 PM
Dusty
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default 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 ---


 




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
Child Support Policy and the Welfare of Women and Children Dusty Child Support 0 May 13th 04 12:46 AM
| | Kids should work... Kane Foster Parents 3 December 9th 03 12:53 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 07:26 AM.


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.