Q: Can a baby mother sue the wife/spouse of father for child support?
Husband had an affair while separated that resulted in child. While we managed to work things out, the baby mother has been quite bitter about the whole process. She threatens to sue me for child support. My husband shares 50/50 custody and pays child support. However, he recently lost his job and may not be able to continue payments. Does she have a legal say in my finances?
A: No, you have zero legal obligation to pay her child support. However, if your husband owes back child support, and you have joint financial accounts with your husband, you would be advised to remove your husband's name from the joint accounts, because his child's mother could have the arrearages reduced to a judgment, and then attach those joint accounts for satisfaction of the debt. She cannot attach an account solely in your name or obtain a judgment against you. One spouse's debts to not become the other spouse's debts. If you jointly own a home, and it is titled as "tenants by the entirety" then she cannot attach the home (a TbyE property can only be attached if here is a judgment against both TbyE spouses). If there is a court order establishing your husband's child support obligation, then he should immediately file a motion to reduce his obligation based on his loss of income. The court can only modify a child support obligation back to the date a motion was filed.
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