Law requires man to pay for another man's child
Illinois fathers might be alarmed to hear about the case of a divorced father of two in Michigan who was ordered to pay child support for a child that his ex-wife had with another man. The man reportedly did not even know that his wife had another child with another man until his two sons informed him. He was, therefore, surprised to receive a letter that stated he owed $8,500 in unpaid child support for the child that was not his own.
The man reportedly received the letter ordering him to pay child support for another man's child on Father's Day. He told Michigan's Wood TV that he thought it was a joke. After asking Wood TV's investigative unit to look into his case for him, he found that it was indeed not a joke. Even though the biological father of the child has parental rights over the child, the other man is still legally obligated to pay for a child that is not is under Michigan law.
The law that makes this possible is the Paternity Act of 1956. Basically, because the man and his wife were still married when she got pregnant with the child, the person who is ordered to pay child support for the child is determined by what is in the best interest of the child. In the man's case, he could afford to pay more, so even though the child is not biologically his, he is the one ordered to pay child support.
A family law attorney may be able to help those who are ordered to pay child support for children that aren't their own. Family law attorneys might be able to help people get their child support orders modified or dismissed completely.
Source: Huffington Post, "Child Support Law Requires Man To Pay For Another Man's Child", July 29, 2013
