Can I Stop Paying
Child Support If I Find Out The Child Is Not Mine?
In Illinois, an unwed father who wishes to acknowledge the
paternity of a child can sign a Voluntary Acknowledgment of Paternity (VAP). This is a form
that can be signed at the hospital between unwed parents, to establish the man
as the child’s father. After signing the VAP, a father can be put on the birth
certificate. Once a man has signed a VAP, he has 60 days from the date it is
signed to withdraw it. If the VAP is not withdrawn in time, the voluntariness of the acknowledgment can only be challenged in court on the basis of fraud, duress, or material
mistake of fact.
Under Illinois law, a father-child relationship, including an obligation to support the child,
does not depend on the parents’ marital status. Therefore, a father who
acknowledges paternity through a VAP (or who is found by a court to be the
father) can be ordered to pay child support to the mother of the child to help
with the child’s upbringing. A problem may arise for the father if, after child
support payments have been ordered and paid, the father discovers he is not the child’s father. Current Illinois law makes it very difficult
for a man who previously signed a VAP to be released from his obligation to pay child support, even
when a DNA test shows he is not the father. This is because the law views an
acknowledgment of paternity through a VAP as conclusive evidence of paternity as to the father who signed it.
New law has been proposed
to allow a father who previously signed a VAP to challenge it based on DNA
testing showing he is not the father.
Despite what a couple believes at the time of the child’s birth,
it is wiser to hold off on signing a VAP until DNA testing can definitively
establish the man as the child’s father. In fact, the VAP form informs the couple of the father’s right to seek
genetic testing before acknowledging paternity. Therefore, a father who signs
the VAP anyway is seen to be waiving the right to testing, and acknowledging
that despite not having proof, he accepts he is the father. The form also warns
that the father will be responsible for child support and other financial obligations until the child is
18 years old, and beyond. While asking for a DNA test may cause friction within
the parents’ relationship, it may save the alleged father thousands in child
support payments he would otherwise not owe if the child is not his
biologically.
Contact a Chicago Family Attorney
If you acknowledged paternity of a child, and later found out that you were not the child’s biological father, you may want to stop making child support payments. Before stopping payments, consult the Chicago area family law attorneys M. Scott Gordon & Associates and see how we can help you. Stopping payments without a court order could lead to interest charges for late payments, amongst other unwanted problems.
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