Q: Will the court allowed child support if the couple hasn’t been together in years?
A friend of mine has a 6 year old son and he currently does not pay child support. They have never been married and haven’t been together in 5 years. However she has threatened him several times that she will put him on child support so he has to do what he can not to upset her. How will the court look at it if she all of a sudden puts him on child support after all these years and they never married?
A: A court will likely put in place orders that require him to pay child support, assuming your friend is in fact the dad (through either an acknowledgement of paternity or through an adjudication of paternity). If there are no prior support orders, the court presumptively can order up to 4 years back support for the child, in addition to establishing a future obligation to pay. Your friend should talk to a local child custody/support attorney to discuss his options.
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