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Man to Pay Child Support for the Rest of His Life-for a Child Who Isn't His



 
 
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  #1  
Old March 20th 09, 07:29 PM posted to alt.child-support
Dusty
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 340
Default Man to Pay Child Support for the Rest of His Life-for a Child Who Isn't His

Robert Franklin, Esq.
Man to Pay Child Support for the Rest of His Life-for a Child Who Isn't His
2009-03-19

Former North Platte, Nebraska resident Tim Spiehs has already been paying
for 29 years for the girl his wife told him was his daughter. They were
married briefly and then divorced. Tim had paid an attorney, but the lawyer
didn't show up on the day of the court hearing, so Tim went ahead alone.
That was a mistake, but it was 1981 and few people had even heard of genetic
testing and it was far from common in family cases. Read about it here
(North Platte Bulletin, 3/11/09).

But even if he'd suspected that the child wasn't his, he would never have
guessed that whatever happened that day was res judicata, judicially
decided, set in stone. But that's exactly what happened. He failed to
contest paternity of the child, so when the judge brought his gavel down,
his paternity was adjudicated forever. And as usually happens in this
country, there was no duty on the mother's part to tell the truth. And she
didn't.

Eventually Spiehs got a DNA test. Amazingly, despite the lab's statement
"probability of paternity - 0.00%," both mother and daughter blithely claim
that he's the father. The daughter goes so far as to say "I know my mother
wouldn't lie to me about who my father is."

Anyway, Tim Spiehs started paying for a child who wasn't his. Later on, his
ex claims she told him the truth, but by then it was far too late for him to
do anything about. (How she now claims he's the father, I have no idea.)
He's taken the case to both appellate levels, spent a lot of money and is
stuck with a lifetime of child support.

Why a lifetime? Just read Sanford Braver's Divorced Dads. It shows that
non-custodial parents who get behind in their support payments usually do so
because of job loss or ill health. Tim Spiehs has had both according to
Frank Graham who wrote the North Platte Bulletin piece. During those times,
the interest and penalties built up and up. Spiehs is 60 years old, in poor
health and works in a convenience store. Instead of looking forward to
retirement, he gets to look forward to working every day for the rest of his
life to pay for a child who's not his.

Reread that last sentence and ask "what if that were me?"

-----------------------------------

http://www.northplattebulletin.com/i...212 &pageID=3

Man not dad but still ordered to pay child support by Frank Graham (North
Platte Bulletin) - 3/11/2009

A former North Platte resident has paid child support for 29 years, even
though a DNA test said the daughter is not his.

Tim Spiehs, now of Belleville Kan., has had his paycheck garnished for years
to make the support payments. In all, he has paid more than $26,000, which
includes penalties and interest and still owes $12,400 on the principal, he
said.

Spiehs was divorced in 1981 and began paying child support then, but didn't
get a DNA test on his daughter until 2000. He had sought the test for years
and said the girl finally agreed.

The test, performed by Laboratory Corporation of America in Burlington N.C.,
said Spiehs is "excluded from paternity" and that he is "not the biological
father of the child."

"Probability of paternity -- 0.00%," the test concluded.

But that test doesn't matter, according to the law.

Spiehs argued his case all the way to the Nebraska Supreme Court, but even
they wouldn't overturn it.

Spiehs is a victim of what is said in the justice system, in Latin terms -
"res judicata", meaning, "it has already been decided."




The history

Spiehs worked in North Platte in the late 1970s. He met and fell for a woman
and they got married.

Spiehs soon found himself working out-of-town in Grand Island. Many times he
was gone all week and only home on weekends. He said he began to suspect his
wife, Lavanda, was having an affair.

In 1979 the couple had a daughter, also named Lavanda, but the marriage didn't
last. By 1981 the couple had split and was in divorce court.

Spiehs said he hired an attorney from Grand Island to represent him. He paid
him $300 and was due to pay another $350 when the divorce was finalized.

Spiehs said he still suspected his daughter was not his. He said Lavanda
even told him that their daughter was not his on numerous occasions.

Spiehs said he even found out who the real father was.

Spiehs said he asked several people, including a caseworker from the
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, about getting a blood
test.

"She told me that wasn't necessary," Spiehs said.

In 1981, DNA was a new technology and wasn't all that prevalent in family
court.

Spiehs said on the day of the final divorce hearing, his attorney did not
show up in court.

Spiehs said he wasn't familiar with the court system and never thought of
asking for a delay. He sat, without an attorney, as Lincoln County District
Judge John Murphy issued a ruling in the divorce case.

Spiehs was ordered to pay child support.

The case was decided.

Spiehs said he was railroaded because he didn't understand what was
happening that day. He said he never paid his attorney the other $350 and
filed a complaint against him.

And Spiehs continued to fight.

In 1984, a sperm count taken by Dr. Bob Dellinger of North Platte showed
that Spiehs was sterile, but he could not find a way to bring the issue back
into court.

"The State of Nebraska harassed me constantly," Spiehs said. "They
threatened to throw me in jail and suspend my driver's license if I didn't
pay."

Spiehs said he talked to numerous lawyers and everyone he could think of at
HHS, but no one cared.

Spiehs had his paychecks garnished, with penalties and interest piled on.

Spiehs repeatedly asked Lavanda to allow the daughter to submit to a DNA
test but she refused. When the daughter turned 18, Spiehs said he asked the
daughter and she agreed.

The test was taken at the Craft State Office Building and submitted to Lab
Corp.

"The test cost me $630, but it was worth it," Spiehs said. "It proved that
Lavanda was not my daughter."

Spiehs saved his money and hired P. Stephen Potter to fight the case.

Potter filed a motion for a new trial in March 2001. He argued that there
were irregularities in the first divorce hearing and that Spiehs did not
have a fair trial.

Potter also argued that the decision of the court was not sustained by
sufficient evidence and that newly discovered evidence which he could not
have obtained with reasonable diligence had been discovered. He also argued
that he had evidence of Lavanda's fraud and that she was aware that Spiehs
was not the father of the child when Murphy's decree was entered.

On April 17, 2001, Murphy issued his decision. He ruled that evidence (DNA
test) could have been obtained and discovered with reasonable diligence.
Murphy said Spiehs suspected he was not the father in 1981 but did nothing
to follow-up on that suspicion.

"He may not now be heard to complain that fraud was conducted," Murphy
ruled.

Spiehs said the hearings had cost him an additional $1,500 but that he wasn't
about to stop fighting.

So he paid Potter an additional $3,500 to appeal Murphy's decision to the
Nebraska Court of Appeals.

The Appeals Court issued its ruling June 14, 2002.

They affirmed Murphy's ruling. They ruled that Spiehs suspected Lavanda was
not his daughter so there could be no finding of fraud and "the application
of res judicata applies to the divorce decree."

The Appeals Court also agreed that Spiehs could have questioned the true
paternity of his daughter before the court, but did not.

Spiehs "motion to modify was barred by the doctrine of res judicata," the
court wrote.




Res judicata

Res judicata (Latin: "a thing adjudged") means a thing or matter that has
been finally decided on its merits and cannot be litigated again between the
same parties.

The term is often used in reference to the maxim that repeated reexamination
of disputes is not in any society's interest.

It has long been held that one judicial contest is enough for the litigants
on a particular claim or defense.

As the volume of judicial work has risen, the need to limit litigants to a
single contest about a single controversy has become more urgent.

The concept of res judicata has expanded in scope and power.

But Spiehs doesn't understand it.

"We now know the truth of the matter," Spiehs argues. "Doesn't the truth
matter any more?"

Potter realizes that Spiehs is stuck and getting a raw deal, but said res
judicata is necessary or the courts would be bogged down in fighting the
same battles over and over.

Spiehs thinks no justice was done. He would like to get all the money he
paid into child support back, but that is not likely. He would even settle
for having the remaining balance forgiven so he could get on with his life,
but that is not likely either.

Spiehs has not seen Lavanda or her daughter for about two years.

Lavanda remarried and goes by the name Lavanda Watts. She still claims
Spiehs is the father.

Lavanda Titchen, the daughter, is now 28 and has children of her own. She
said she still thinks of Tim as her father and believes the DNA test is
flawed.

"We were told that all three of us - mother, father and daughter - have to
have it done at the same time," Titchen said.

"I've been upset over the years at what he's tried to do and say," Titchen
said. "I know my mother wouldn't lie to me about who my father is."

"But he was an alcoholic, so I didn't get too attached to him," Titchen
said.




Still fighting

Spiehs, who has remarried, will be 60 in April. He faces paying child
support payments to Lavanda until the day he dies.

"The whole experience makes me so angry I could spit nails," Spiehs said. "I
have absolute proof that I am not Lavanda's father, but neither the State of
Nebraska or the judicial system listen to me."

"How long does an error have to go on until it's fixed," Spiehs asked.
"Until I die?"

Spiehs does not intend to quit fighting, although his options have narrowed
dramatically.

He filed a complaint with the Nebraska Judicial Commission about Judge
Murphy. He received a letter back from the commission promising that they
would look into the matter and advise him of what action, if any, would be
taken.

But several legal experts said state statutes would have to change for
Spiehs to get any relief.

A single decision by a judge, made 29 years ago, will likely haunt Spiehs
the rest of his life.

  #2  
Old March 20th 09, 11:51 PM posted to alt.child-support
Chris
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,421
Default Man to Pay Child Support for the Rest of His Life-for a Child Who Isn't His



--
Any man that's good enough to pay child support is good enough to have
custody of such child.
"Dusty" wrote in message
...
Robert Franklin, Esq.
Man to Pay Child Support for the Rest of His Life-for a Child Who Isn't
His
2009-03-19

Former North Platte, Nebraska resident Tim Spiehs has already been paying
for 29 years for the girl his wife told him was his daughter. They were
married briefly and then divorced. Tim had paid an attorney, but the
lawyer didn't show up on the day of the court hearing, so Tim went ahead
alone. That was a mistake, but it was 1981 and few people had even heard
of genetic testing and it was far from common in family cases. Read about
it here (North Platte Bulletin, 3/11/09).

But even if he'd suspected that the child wasn't his, he would never have
guessed that whatever happened that day was res judicata, judicially
decided, set in stone. But that's exactly what happened. He failed to
contest paternity of the child, so when the judge brought his gavel down,
his paternity was adjudicated forever. And as usually happens in this
country, there was no duty on the mother's part to tell the truth. And
she didn't.

Eventually Spiehs got a DNA test. Amazingly, despite the lab's statement
"probability of paternity - 0.00%," both mother and daughter blithely
claim that he's the father. The daughter goes so far as to say "I know my
mother wouldn't lie to me about who my father is."

Anyway, Tim Spiehs started paying for a child who wasn't his. Later on,
his ex claims she told him the truth, but by then it was far too late for
him to do anything about. (How she now claims he's the father, I have no
idea.) He's taken the case to both appellate levels, spent a lot of money
and is stuck with a lifetime of child support.

Why a lifetime? Just read Sanford Braver's Divorced Dads. It shows that
non-custodial parents who get behind in their support payments usually do
so because of job loss or ill health. Tim Spiehs has had both according
to Frank Graham who wrote the North Platte Bulletin piece. During those
times, the interest and penalties built up and up. Spiehs is 60 years
old, in poor health and works in a convenience store. Instead of looking
forward to retirement, he gets to look forward to working every day for
the rest of his life to pay for a child who's not his.

Reread that last sentence and ask "what if that were me?"

-----------------------------------

http://www.northplattebulletin.com/i...212 &pageID=3

Man not dad but still ordered to pay child support by Frank Graham (North
Platte Bulletin) - 3/11/2009

A former North Platte resident has paid child support for 29 years, even
though a DNA test said the daughter is not his.

Tim Spiehs, now of Belleville Kan., has had his paycheck garnished for
years to make the support payments. In all, he has paid more than $26,000,
which includes penalties and interest and still owes $12,400 on the
principal, he said.

Spiehs was divorced in 1981 and began paying child support then, but
didn't get a DNA test on his daughter until 2000. He had sought the test
for years and said the girl finally agreed.

The test, performed by Laboratory Corporation of America in Burlington
N.C., said Spiehs is "excluded from paternity" and that he is "not the
biological father of the child."

"Probability of paternity -- 0.00%," the test concluded.

But that test doesn't matter, according to the law.

Spiehs argued his case all the way to the Nebraska Supreme Court, but even
they wouldn't overturn it.

Spiehs is a victim of what is said in the justice system, in Latin terms -
"res judicata", meaning, "it has already been decided."




The history

Spiehs worked in North Platte in the late 1970s. He met and fell for a
woman and they got married.

Spiehs soon found himself working out-of-town in Grand Island. Many times
he was gone all week and only home on weekends. He said he began to
suspect his wife, Lavanda, was having an affair.

In 1979 the couple had a daughter, also named Lavanda, but the marriage
didn't last. By 1981 the couple had split and was in divorce court.

Spiehs said he hired an attorney from Grand Island to represent him. He
paid him $300 and was due to pay another $350 when the divorce was
finalized.

Spiehs said he still suspected his daughter was not his. He said Lavanda
even told him that their daughter was not his on numerous occasions.

Spiehs said he even found out who the real father was.

Spiehs said he asked several people, including a caseworker from the
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, about getting a blood
test.

"She told me that wasn't necessary," Spiehs said.

In 1981, DNA was a new technology and wasn't all that prevalent in family
court.

Spiehs said on the day of the final divorce hearing, his attorney did not
show up in court.

Spiehs said he wasn't familiar with the court system and never thought of
asking for a delay. He sat, without an attorney, as Lincoln County
District Judge John Murphy issued a ruling in the divorce case.

Spiehs was ordered to pay child support.

The case was decided.

Spiehs said he was railroaded because he didn't understand what was
happening that day. He said he never paid his attorney the other $350 and
filed a complaint against him.

And Spiehs continued to fight.

In 1984, a sperm count taken by Dr. Bob Dellinger of North Platte showed
that Spiehs was sterile, but he could not find a way to bring the issue
back into court.

"The State of Nebraska harassed me constantly," Spiehs said. "They
threatened to throw me in jail and suspend my driver's license if I didn't
pay."

Spiehs said he talked to numerous lawyers and everyone he could think of
at HHS, but no one cared.

Spiehs had his paychecks garnished, with penalties and interest piled on.

Spiehs repeatedly asked Lavanda to allow the daughter to submit to a DNA
test but she refused. When the daughter turned 18, Spiehs said he asked
the daughter and she agreed.

The test was taken at the Craft State Office Building and submitted to Lab
Corp.

"The test cost me $630, but it was worth it," Spiehs said. "It proved that
Lavanda was not my daughter."

Spiehs saved his money and hired P. Stephen Potter to fight the case.

Potter filed a motion for a new trial in March 2001. He argued that there
were irregularities in the first divorce hearing and that Spiehs did not
have a fair trial.

Potter also argued that the decision of the court was not sustained by
sufficient evidence and that newly discovered evidence which he could not
have obtained with reasonable diligence had been discovered. He also
argued that he had evidence of Lavanda's fraud and that she was aware that
Spiehs was not the father of the child when Murphy's decree was entered.

On April 17, 2001, Murphy issued his decision. He ruled that evidence (DNA
test) could have been obtained and discovered with reasonable diligence.
Murphy said Spiehs suspected he was not the father in 1981 but did nothing
to follow-up on that suspicion.

"He may not now be heard to complain that fraud was conducted," Murphy
ruled.

Spiehs said the hearings had cost him an additional $1,500 but that he
wasn't about to stop fighting.

So he paid Potter an additional $3,500 to appeal Murphy's decision to the
Nebraska Court of Appeals.

The Appeals Court issued its ruling June 14, 2002.

They affirmed Murphy's ruling. They ruled that Spiehs suspected Lavanda
was not his daughter so there could be no finding of fraud and "the
application of res judicata applies to the divorce decree."

The Appeals Court also agreed that Spiehs could have questioned the true
paternity of his daughter before the court, but did not.

Spiehs "motion to modify was barred by the doctrine of res judicata," the
court wrote.




Res judicata

Res judicata (Latin: "a thing adjudged") means a thing or matter that has
been finally decided on its merits and cannot be litigated again between
the same parties.

The term is often used in reference to the maxim that repeated
reexamination of disputes is not in any society's interest.

It has long been held that one judicial contest is enough for the
litigants on a particular claim or defense.

As the volume of judicial work has risen, the need to limit litigants to a
single contest about a single controversy has become more urgent.

The concept of res judicata has expanded in scope and power.

But Spiehs doesn't understand it.

"We now know the truth of the matter," Spiehs argues. "Doesn't the truth
matter any more?"

Potter realizes that Spiehs is stuck and getting a raw deal, but said res
judicata is necessary or the courts would be bogged down in fighting the
same battles over and over.

Spiehs thinks no justice was done. He would like to get all the money he
paid into child support back, but that is not likely. He would even settle
for having the remaining balance forgiven so he could get on with his
life, but that is not likely either.

Spiehs has not seen Lavanda or her daughter for about two years.

Lavanda remarried and goes by the name Lavanda Watts. She still claims
Spiehs is the father.

Lavanda Titchen, the daughter, is now 28 and has children of her own. She
said she still thinks of Tim as her father and believes the DNA test is
flawed.

"We were told that all three of us - mother, father and daughter - have to
have it done at the same time," Titchen said.

"I've been upset over the years at what he's tried to do and say," Titchen
said. "I know my mother wouldn't lie to me about who my father is."

"But he was an alcoholic, so I didn't get too attached to him," Titchen
said.




Still fighting

Spiehs, who has remarried, will be 60 in April. He faces paying child
support payments to Lavanda until the day he dies.

"The whole experience makes me so angry I could spit nails," Spiehs said.
"I have absolute proof that I am not Lavanda's father, but neither the
State of Nebraska or the judicial system listen to me."

"How long does an error have to go on until it's fixed," Spiehs asked.
"Until I die?"

Spiehs does not intend to quit fighting, although his options have
narrowed dramatically.

He filed a complaint with the Nebraska Judicial Commission about Judge
Murphy. He received a letter back from the commission promising that they
would look into the matter and advise him of what action, if any, would be
taken.

But several legal experts said state statutes would have to change for
Spiehs to get any relief.

A single decision by a judge, made 29 years ago, will likely haunt Spiehs
the rest of his life.


This just proves, once again, that FREE $$$ is what it's all about and
nothing more. Which begs the question: What is the purpose of a DNA test if
a man is forced to pay "child support" regardless of the outcome?



  #3  
Old March 21st 09, 09:15 PM posted to alt.child-support
DB[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 266
Default Man to Pay Child Support for the Rest of His Life-for a Child Who Isn't His


"Dusty" wrote in

Why a lifetime? Just read Sanford Braver's Divorced Dads. It shows that
non-custodial parents who get behind in their support payments usually do
so because of job loss or ill health. Tim Spiehs has had both according
to Frank Graham who wrote the North Platte Bulletin piece. During those
times, the interest and penalties built up and up. Spiehs is 60 years
old, in poor health and works in a convenience store. Instead of looking
forward to retirement, he gets to look forward to working every day for
the rest of his life to pay for a child who's not his.

Reread that last sentence and ask "what if that were me?"


I wish I only had $12,000 to pay off, it's around $70,000 now!

Wonder how they'll prosecute fathers in this Depression era?





 




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