Q: 1 month long marriage. Now she's fighting for child support
The child isn't mine and had it before we got married. I'm military. She is fighting for child support and neglect, even though they only lived with me for a month in texas before moving back home. I didn't adopt the child nor put my name on the birth certificate. Do I have an obligation to pay child support?
A: Only a legal father has an obligation to pay child support. Under the laws of Missouri, since the child was born prior to the marriage and you are not on the birth certificate (and I assume you have not been found to be the biological father of this child), you are not the presumed father or the legal father. If it is possible that you are the father of this child because you and her were in a relationship when the child was conceived, she can name you in a paternity suit to determine the existence of a father-child relationship. But unless you are found to be the legal father, the court cannot order a child support order against you.
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