Many parents in Montgomery, Tennessee, understand the importance of the money received as support from a non-custodial parent of a child. As a result, child support claims are common in court houses across the state at any given time.
In a recent lawsuit filed in South Dakota, a mother of a 16-month-old child is seeking child support from the alleged biological father who was also a superintendent at the high school from which the woman graduated. According to the lawsuit, the woman conceived after getting involved in an intimate relationship with the alleged father after she graduated from high school.
In her affidavit, the woman said that although the superintendent was the father, he denied paternity. The woman also said that her then-boyfriend signed the paternity statement for the baby although he was not the father.
The woman has demanded child support payments from January 2013, when the child was born, until now, and for the future. The judge ordered the alleged father to undergo a paternity test within 30 days of the order to determine the father of the child.
In Tennessee, there may be a number of parents who are in a situation like this. While mothers may want to have a paternity test conducted to seek child support from a biological father, a father may want the same in order to avoid paying child support for a child who is not his. Furthermore, many fathers request parentage tests so that they can establish custodial or visitation rights.
However, many parents might not be fully aware of family laws in Tennessee. This means that in some cases, parents could make uninformed decisions, which in the long run can hurt their interests as well as the best interests of the child. Therefore, in all matters related to child support, consulting a lawyer and then making an informed decision may be the wisest decision.
Source: Argus Leader, “Miller superintendent resigns after paternity suit filed by former student,” Mar. 19, 2014
