Does Georgia Have Retroactive Child Support
Georgia does not have a law that requires a parent in these circumstances to pay retroactive child support. This means that if you are ultimately required to pay child support pursuant to a court order, then the court will not necessarily require you to pay to the mother the amount of monthly child support that you may have otherwise been required to pay from the date of the childs birth to the present.
Paying back child support in Georgia is not necessary because the Georgia Child Support Statute only provides for prospective child support, which means child support beginning from the date that the court enters the order. There is case law in Georgia, however, that permits a custodial parent to request that the court require the non-custodial parent to pay what is referred to as past due expenditures incurred on the childs behalf both during pregnancy and post-pregnancy.
Does California Family Law Allow One To Gain Custody Over An Unborn Child
Child custody rights in California are never cut and dry, and matters become increasingly complicated if the child has yet to be born.
What rights does a father have to an unborn child, particularly where custody is involved? This is a good and common question, and yet there is no easy answer. The best a father or mother in this situation can do is speak to a qualified attorney. The laws governing the unborn are different than those that determine custody after the child has been born.
To help clarify the issue of the rights of father of an unborn child, as well as the rights of pregnant mothers, we have compiled a compilation of explanations and scenarios regarding an unborn childs rights and those of his or her parents. After reading, you should have a better comprehension of where you stand with regards to your unborn childs rights in the state of California.
Under California law, mothers dont have to do anything to get all the rights to the child she wants. The law is different for fathers before the birth.
Need to protect your father’s rights? Call Griffith, Young & Lass today at to set up a legal consultation.
Other Responsibilities Of The Parents
The other lawful responsibilities of both parents will also be looked into in determining child support. For example, if the non-custodial parent is paying child support from a previous marriage , the court will take that obligation into consideration. Necessities of life, such as rent and food will also be taken into account by the court. However, the court will not reduce child support payments to make it easier for the parent to pay discretionary obligations. For example, a parent cannot provide for a charity or buy an expensive car at the expense of providing for his or her own children.
To assist the court in determining the proper amount of support, both parties will be required by the court to prepare a financial declaration that is signed under penalty of perjury. Each parent will be required to fully disclose their income , the nature and extent of their property holdings such as bank accounts, investments and real property and their financial obligations. The court will rely heavily on these documents in making the order. So, it is in the best interests of the children that the declarations are filled out completely and honestly.
Don’t Miss: Can You Get Pregnant While On Nexplanon Birth Control
Retroactive Child Support In Georgia
Sometimes a father does not learn that he is the childs biological father until years after the childs birth.
Sometimes, an unwed father is actively engaged with the child from his or her birth, but perhaps does not provide regular, fixed-dollar amounts of financial support on the childs behalf.
Sometimes, an unwed father provides substantial support to his child from the date of conception, both emotional and financial.
In any of the previous referenced scenarios, the father may ultimately be forced to respond to the mothers decision to request a court order requiring the father to pay a fixed amount of monthly child support. Fathers in this predicament will oftentimes ask whether or not they will be required to pay back child support or retroactive child support.
When Should I File A Motion To Modify Child Support
You should file a motion to modify child support as soon as there is a change in circumstances that may cause an increase or decrease in the child support order. If the judge grants the motion to modify, the new amount can start on the date you filed the motion, but not any earlier. For example, if you lose your job in January but do not file your motion to decrease until July, even if the judge reduces your child support order, you will still be responsible for paying the higher amount for each of the months from January until the date you filed in July. Or, if you are sent to jail but do not file your motion to suspend until you are released, you will still be responsible for paying the child support that was owed while you were in jail.
Recommended Reading: What To Know At 6 Weeks Pregnant
Can You Get A Divorce While Pregnant In Texas
In the Lone Star State, you can file for divorce if youre expecting a baby, but you must wait until its born for the judges to finalize the divorce. This is because of the:
- Child custody and supportIf the husband is the childs genetic father, the orders for custody and support need to be included in the Final Decree of the Divorce. The judge cant finalize the divorce until the child is born
- Spousal supportIf the pregnant spouse wants to request alimony as financial help for raising the infant, the child needs to be born first
- Paternity issuesIn case the husband is not the childs biological father, the paternity of the child needs to be established before the finalization of the divorce
Child Support Can Be More Than Just A Check
The child support decree is not limited to an order of direct money payments to the custodial parent. The order often addresses other needs. Here is some sample language in a child support order:
- “As and for additional child support, father/mother is ordered to maintain his/her children as beneficiaries on his/her health and life insurance policies available through his/her employment. Father/mother is further ordered to pay for one-half of all uninsured medical, dental and ophthalmologic services provided for the children.”
- “As and for additional child support, father/mother shall pay directly to the ABC Daycare Cooperative, the full cost of afternoon after-school day care. However, should the children be enrolled in morning day care, such expenses shall be the sole responsibility of the other parent.”
- “As and for additional child support, father/mother shall pay the round-trip plane and other reasonable costs of transporting the children for visitation with father/mother, as provided in the visitation provisions of this order. However, during visits of two weeks or more, the father’s/mothers child support payments to mother shall be reduced by $50 per month per child.”
Read the Law: Md. Code, Family Law § 12-201, § 12-202, § 12-204
Read the Case: Payne v. Payne, 132 Md.App. 432
Recommended Reading: What Medicine To Take To Get Pregnant
Can You Get Divorced If Either Spouse Is Pregnant
If you have an opposite-sex marriage, you must wait until after the child is born to finish your divorce.
- If the husband is the childs genetic father, then orders for custody and support of the child must be included in the Final Decree of Divorce. The judge cannot make those orders until after the child is born.
- If the husband is not the childs genetic father, then paternity of the child must be established before you can finish your divorce. Paternity cannot be established until the child is born.
If you have a same-sex marriage between two women, its a good idea to talk with a lawyer familiar with LGBT family issues if either spouse is pregnant. The law in this area is unsettled.
What Experts Say About Divorce During Pregnancy
Many couples assume that it’s best to end their marriage before their unborn child arrives since even babies can experience stress and other hardships from the divorce process. Unless you’re filing an uncontested divorce, though, chances are you may run into some red tape if you file for divorce before your child is born.
In fact, Jamie Kurtz of OnlineDivorce.com says many states will not allow couples to finalize their divorce during pregnancy. Oftentimes this is because a judge needs information about the child before they can make custody decisions or order any sort of child support arrangements. In the cases of a child who isn’t yet born, though, it’s hard for a judge to really know what will be in that child’s best interests.
Even if you can’t finalize the divorce yet, couples can start the divorce process during pregnancy then finalize everything once the child arrives. However, Kurtz says that some states, like Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, and Florida, require expectant couples to wait until after their child’s birth to file for divorce at all. So really it all boils down to your geographic location and your state and local laws about divorce proceedings.
Also Check: How Do You Know Pregnant
Can I Get Child Support For An Unborn Child
Its not a situation that many couples plan for, but sometimes, a child is conceived at the end of a relationship.
In this instance, the soon-to-be-parents may question if the father has a legal obligation to pay support towards his unborn child, perhaps by contributing to the expenses of the mother-to-be before the child is even born.
The answer is both yes and no.
– Article Continued Below –
To Our Newsletter
Traditional Child Support
Before we get into this more complex scenario, its important to understand how traditional child support works. Under the Ontario Family Law Act, all parents have a duty to contribute financially towards the care of their offspring. However, that duty arises only after the child is actually born because, by law, a fetus is not legally recognized as a person.
This however, does not mean that a soon-to-be father has no financial responsibility until after the child is born. Although the concept of support in the customary sense may not apply, there are still some court-imposed avenues for a father to be held financially accountable for the expenses associated with the well-being of an unborn child, namely:
As the court put it in a case called Boca v. Mendel, when making an order against the father for $980.18:
Under Estate Law
Do Financial Obligations Give Rise to Paternal Rights?
This scenario can be difficult to navigate alone. Dont hesitate to get in contact with our firm if you are wondering about support for your unborn child.
Georgia Retroactive Child Support Case Law
This requirement originates from a Georgia law that states it is the joint and several duty of each parent of a child born out of wedlock to provide for the maintenance, protection, and education of the child until he or she reaches the age of majority, except to the extent that the duty of one parent is otherwise or further defined by court order. See O.C.G.A. § 19-7-24.
In 1990, the Georgia Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether or not a mother may request that a court order the father, after paternity is established, to reimburse her with back child support for expenses that she incurred on the childs behalf prior to the establishment of a court order. Weaver v. Chester, 195 Ga. App. 471 .
In this case, the court held that the mother is legally authorized to make such a request however, she may only request reimbursement of those expenses to the extent and amount that she actually incurred. Id. at 473.
The fact that the mother could have incurred more expenses had the father been involved is not a valid basis to request an amount greater than the sums actually fact incurred.
The decision in this case means that provided the mother can establish the amount she incurred for pregnancy related medical expenses, and other necessary expenses on the childs behalf prior to the establishment of a court order, then she is authorized to request that the court order the father to pay for these expenses after paternity is established.
Read Also: What To Pack For The Hospital When Pregnant
How To Pay And Receive Child Support
When child support is set up online or in court, it is automatically filed with the Family Responsibility Office . It helps families get the support they are entitled to by collecting, distributing and enforcing child and spousal support payments. It also determines how the money is to be paid and received .
If you arrange child support through a written agreement , you can still have FRO determine how support is paid and received.
To do this, you must:
Find out when and how you will receive payments through FRO.
How To Get Full Custody Of An Unborn Child
In cases where the father has established paternity and the mother is deemed by the father to be unfit, whether because of psychological, substance abuse, or other issues that may put the child at risk, the father can petition the court for full custody once the child is born.
Pre-birth orders may also be issued to ensure the father is fully enmeshed in the babys care before the birth occurs.
Also Check: Can You Have Postpartum Depression During Pregnancy
Can You Get Child Support Before The Baby Is Born
Can a pregnant woman get child support? Can you file for child support while pregnant?
This is a common question asked of many California family attorneys. The short answer is yes. However, there are some rules the woman must follow in order to start collecting support payments from the presumed father.
The most common step to gaining financial assistance during and after the childs birth is to speak to the Child Support Agency. The agency can help to determine paternity if the father is yet unknown.
If the father is known and he follows the proper channels in establishing parental responsibility, the Child Support Agency will begin collecting child support from the father on the mothers behalf. This can occur during the pregnancy if the order is issued by a family court Judge.
What Is Child Support
Both parents have a legal duty to support their child based on their ability to provide that support. Since 1990, Maryland has had child support guidelines, which provide a formula for calculating child support based on a proportion of each parent’s gross income. These guidelines are applied unless a party can show that the application of the guidelines would be unjust and inappropriate in a particular case. This article discusses the issue of child support when viewed in the context of a divorce or paternity action. Courts often make crucial decisions about how much child support a noncustodial parent must pay.
Read Also: What Are Some Pregnancy Cravings
Elements Of The Child Support Order
There are several parts to most child support orders. First, the paying parent will almost always be ordered to make a monthly money payment to the custodial parent. The order will typically read, in part, as follows:
“Father/mother is ordered to pay directly to father/mother for child support of Tom and Mary, the sum of $300 per month per child for a total of $600, payable one-half on the first and one half on the fifteenth day of each month, said payments to continue until each such child shall die, reach majority, become emancipated or until further order of court.”
Important points to notice about this portion of the child support order:
When Do Courts Get Involved
During a marriage or committed relationship, child support is rarely a concern for the court. But when parents divorce or stop living together with their children as a family, the courts often become involved. The court is often required to decide how much support the non-custodial parent must pay. The custodial parent is the parent who primarily resides with the child. The non-custodial parent does not primarily reside with the child, though he or she may have liberal visitation. Like custody, the amount of support can be decided by agreement or by fighting it out in front of a judge.
You can avoid making child support a contested issue and avoid the legal expense of litigating this issue in court. To do this, both parents can agree to the appropriate amount of child support and make this agreement part of a marital separation agreement. Child support payments, like alimony, may be incorporated into the divorce judgment or included in a marital separation agreement. Note that agreements that waive child support completely may not hold up as enforceable in court if it is deemed not to be in the best interests of the child.
Don’t Miss: Is It Possible To Menstruate During Pregnancy
