Louisiana Child Support Legal Questions

Short answer based upon the facts provided in your question, the paternity for the minor child has most likely not been established and no obligations would fall upon you, but the way the courts are in Louisiana you should bring a disavowal action to determine whether or not you are the father of the child. Since the Louisiana legislature amended the family law portions of the civil code in 2016, signing of the birth certificate no longer establishes legal paternity. If you and your ex never married, the only way those parental rights and obligations would fall to you is if you had executed an act of acknowledgement of paternity of the minor child. In a perfect world where the application of the statutes were strictly applied, you wouldn’t have to go to court to contest paternity and possible child support. Yet, this is not a perfect world, any person can file anything in a court to have it heard, and your ex may bring an action to establish child support even though paternity has not been established. In such a case you would be forced to not only contest the establishment of child support, but to also contest the paternity. All that said your issue can be resolved. It will require what is called a "disavowal action" and, if she is unwilling to submit the child to a DNA test, a court will order it. Under Louisiana Civil Code Article 187, you may disavow paternity of the child by a showing of clear and convincing evidence that you are not the father. Testimony alone will not be sufficient and will need to be corroborated by other evidence, like a DNA test. Under article 189, the action for disavowal of paternity must be brought within one year from the day of the birth of the child, or the day the you knew or should have known that you may not be the biological father of the child, whichever occurs later. During the disavowal action you may request and the court will order a DNA paternity test to be taken.   If this is something you are interested in pursuing please feel free to set up a free consultation with my office and I would be more than happy to help.... Read More

No. If you have agreed to a certain amount which he will pay in child support and the court accepts that agreement and makes it an order of the court, that order will be a judgment. At that point the judgment will be binding upon your husband and he will be obligated to pay. If he were to cease payment, he could be found to be in civil contempt and be made to pay the back owed child support, as well as the costs of bringing him to court to enforce the judgment. As well, if the violation of the order is sever enough, the judge at their discression may place him in jail for the contempt. ... Read More

Okay, I understand you can not continue to pay child support. What I did not understand was the part about jail time. You also mentioned you are unemployed and taking care of kids. Does the child involved in the child support case living with you full time? If so why are you paying child support? Who do the other kids belong to? Please call my office when you have time.  Please keep in mind that not all lawyers are the same, therefore be very cautious as to which attorney or law firm you chose to work with. We are based in New York but my network of SMS ATTORNEYS does travel out of state for clients and we might have a Child Custody lawyer available in LA. Feel free to give us a call for a free consultation. If you're facing financial hardship, one option may be to speak with the court clerk about a court-appointed lawyer, known as a Pro Bono, or free lawyer. If you would like to retain our services while on a limited budget, do let us know and we will try to do our best to offer payment plans options. Ahsan Syed answer and comments to questions are for general purposes only and do not constitute legal advice or establish an attorney-client relationship with SMS ATTORNEYS without a signed retainer. Thank You. Toll-Free 1-877-866-8665 // Child Custody Lawyer in LA.... Read More

It depends on whether or not there is a court order.  If you are ordered to pay support directly to her, then you must do so, but you do not have to send anything more than the ordered amount.  If you want to send more, you could send that to your mother.  Sometimes putting yourself on child support is the easiest way to insure that the situation stays under control.  regardless of how you do it, though, make sure that you send either checks or money orders, or do deposits that can be tracked, so that she cannot say that you aren't helping.... Read More

You need to FILE for child support.  You can ask the State to do it or you can hire an attorney.  They will serve the army and his wages will most likely be garnished.  I promise you, the Army knows where he is, so serving him with papers is easy.  Just get to your local clerk of court and ask where the child support enforcement office is and go speak with them. They can help.... Read More

Hello, I'm sorry, but I simply need more information before I can reasonably answer this.  Do you have to meet your "Father's dad" would imply a grandfather.  As to having to meet a grandfather out of state, unless there is an order of court specifying that grampa gets visitation and that you are equally responsible for the costs, then likely you do not have to go meet grampa. If you live in the Orleans/Jefferson/St. Tammany area, dont hesitate to call The Civil Law Center, LLC to set up a consultation with an attorney at 504-342-4221.... Read More

Hello! Of COURSE there's a way to appeal...you can appeal anything if you're still within your time frames for appeals and objections.  Also it will depend (to a certain extent) on where the case is.  Some jurisdictions just rubber stamp a support order and it takes some effort to get them to overturn what the lower court did.  Remember though, Child support is determined based on what the two parents of the kids make...so if she had 1 child with a millionaire and 3 kids with a street sweeper who makes minimum wage, then the Millionaire's child will be getting a whole lot more child support than the 3 kids of the street sweeper. Unfortunately, there is also a standard disclaimer I give on this question ...and that is it will always depend on the facts of your case and the particular judge/jurisdiction you're in front of.  Nothing is ever simple in Child support cases. If you'd like to chat with an attorney, call The Civil Law Center, LLC at 504-342-4221 and set up an appointment.  Thanks!... Read More

Alas, I have to give two answers: 1) if its through the State, then "generally" no.  2) however, I have witnessed where a judge determined visitation on the spot despite the fact the Dad hadn't filed for it and asked for it for the fist time in court, so "sometimes" yes.  The general rule is if he hasnt filed for it, he dont get it and YOU can object if he tries to bring it up in court by saying he hasnt "Pled" for it and that you are in court on YOUR motions ONLY.  You definately want to have a lawyer and prepare them with any documentation (emails, texts, facebook posts...etc) that suggest he will be asking for visitation on the day of your hearing. Good luck!... Read More