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What about parents who were not husband and wife to each other when their child was born?

6/24/2015

 
25.  Welcome back for our final Lesson! What about parents who were not husband and wife to each other when their child was born?

            Almost everything we have discussed in the first 24 Lessons applies to parents who were married to each other AND to parents who were not married to each other at the time their child was born.  Let’s talk now about the particular differences.

            KRS 406 governs paternity actions.  A child born during lawful wedlock, or within 10 months thereafter, is presumed to be the child of the husband and wife.  We know the husband will not necessarily be the biological father of the child, and there is no presumption if the mother is not married, so DNA testing can used to determine paternity when parties do not agree by affidavit or testimony in court.

            According to KRS 406.031, a paternity action can be filed at any time before the child turns age 18, and if paternity is established, the father will be obligated to pay child support from the date of filing of the action until the child turns 18, or if still a full-time high school student, until the completion of the school year during which he turns 19. 

            However, if the action is filed before the child reaches the age of 4, the mother can recover the arrearage of child support, medical expenses and childcare expenses that had accrued back to the date of birth.  

            Oddly enough, the paternity statutes were enacted at a time when childbirth outside of marriage was frowned upon, and there is still a requirement that information in paternity actions is to remain confidential and not open for public inspection. 

            There are custody and timesharing issues between unmarried parents that require intervention by the court, and some courts may want to transfer the confidential child support proceedings into the public custody matters so they can be heard together.  I expect an appellate court to rule on the propriety of this practice in the near future unless the legislature decides to remove the confidentiality requirement.

            So, now you know a little bit about the nuances of paternity actions, and you may have completed this entire set of 25 Lessons on Kentucky law pertaining to child support.

            I hope my presentation in these Lessons has been helpful to you.  Now that you are finished with this series, relax …

            And have a great day! 


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    Judge John Schrader is a Husband, a Father, and a Lexington Attorney providing legal and mediation services in the office of Sherrow, Sutherland & Associates, P.S.C.

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    CHILD SUPPORT TABLE OF CONTENTS
    1. Who is required to pay child support in Kentucky?
    Publish Date: April 29, 2015
    2. What do I do to obtain a Kentucky Child Support Order?

    Publish Date: April 29, 2015
    3. How is child support calculated under the guidelines?
    Publish Date: April 30, 2015
    4. What is considered “gross income” for child support calculations?
    Publish Date: May 5, 2015
    5. How do I find out what the other parent's income is?
    Publish Date: May 6, 2015
    6. What about income from self-employment or business income?
    Publish Date: May 7, 2015
    7. What if a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed?
    Publish Date: May 13, 2015
    8. What if one parent is paying maintenance?
    Publish Date: May 13, 2015
    9. Is there an adjustment to a parent's "gross income" if he or she is supporting a prior-born
    child?

    Publish Date: May 13, 2015
    10. What happens in a split custody arrangement where Sissy lives with Mother and Jr. lives with Father?
    Publish Date: May 20, 2015
    11. When can a judge deviate from the child support “guidelines”?
    Publish Date: May 20, 2015
    12. When the parents' combined monthly adjusted gross income exceeds $15,000 per month, how is child support calculated?
    Publish Date: May 20, 2015
    13. How does Kentucky law deal with the big-ticket item of childcare expense?
    Publish Date: May 27, 2015
    14. Do parents have to maintain private health insurance for their child, and if so, who pays
    for it?

    Publish Date: May 27, 2015
    15. Who pays for deductibles and co-pays and how do we deal with extraordinary medical expenses not covered by the insurance?
    Publish Date: May 27, 2015
    16. How does a parent actually recover the proportionate share of extraordinary medical expenses from the other parent?
    Publish Date: June 3, 2015
    17. What if I find out the other parent has not been paying for childcare even though I have been paying for my share?
    Publish Date: June 3, 2015
    18. How do I get a modification of child support in Kentucky?
    Publish Date: June 3, 2015
    19. When does child support terminate?
    Publish Date: June 10, 2015
    20. Is a Wage Assignment Order required for child support in Kentucky?

    Publish Date: June 10, 2015
    21. What does the court do about child support when the child spends a considerable amount of time with both parents?
    Publish Date: June 10, 2015
    22. What is involved in collection of child support?
    Publish Date: June 17, 2015
    23. How does the law deal with enforcement of the child support order when my ex and I
    live in two different states?

    Publish Date: June 17, 2015
    24. If Kentucky does not have jurisdiction over the other parent of my child, what is the UIFSA process to deal with establishment, enforcement and modification of child support
    orders?

    Publish Date: June 17, 2015
    25. What about parents who were not husband and wife to each other when their child was
    born?

    Publish Date: June 24, 2015
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