Basically, i need some advice and answers regarding legal issues that will come up in court come April when the oc is born. I have been reading other posts and replies and it seems that a lot of you have either got screwed by the system or have worked it somehow or another. Well, here are some of my questions...<p>*In MN, does OW have right to put h's last name on birth certificate if h is not there to sign?<p>*How soon after birth does court order paternity test usually if ow is "on the ball" with paperwork etc?<p>*Should my h sign over all assets to me? There is only a truck and a motorcyle. <p>*Would it be beneficial for h to continue to rent or should he buy a house before the birth? (Do courts show leniency (sp?) if h has lots of other bills?<p>*Is there any way or anything we can do on this end to lower cs?<p>*Is there ANYTHING, ANYTHING at all that you can share with us that would be to our advantage knowing before we get to court? <p>*I know there was some debate about this issue of filing for joint custody to lower cs, but then never being involved. Has anyone ever done that?
(awful question, i know, just curious...)<p>Thanks for any input
Julia

Julia we have two appointments with two attys. One is Fri. the other next week.<p>We are trying to gain knowledge of the laws here in ohio.<p>Oc born in April. Dna test taken (my h paid and purred to ow at that time to take test) a month later. Turns out BOTH lawyers frowned on that BECAUSE ow is married, said h should have WAITED for ow to make h take test. At the time, I was angry and h was gung-ho.....<p>
Through ow atty. and our original atty. we started s-l-o-w negotiations on cs and health ins. Last letter from ow atty, last week asked for sun, moon, and stars, out of court! We are now going to see what the chances are to just wait and let her go to court now.<p>She is illegally using our name. BOTH attys. said she can't. (being married and because h didn't sign acknowledgement of paternity.) WE will definately fight that in court. <p>We set up a will disclaiming c. Must find out if ow can come after h's half regardless of will.<p>I'll let you know what, if any, options we may or may not have.<p>Being ow is married in our case may change a few things. I just don't know.<p>With pms on the horizon, I'm again thinking leaving h to all this mess would be best. I again am in the place where I think I can't handle ow, antics, love letters, (yes, she wrote in Oct and was sent yet another warning letter!), oc, cs, or any of it. No matter what my h tells me, I get angry about the loss of privacy we once had. No matter his begging me to "stick by him no matter what" because he wouldn't be able to make it w/o me, I still entertain thoughts of splitting up.<p>Okay, gotta go pray my thoughts away.<p>I'll try to let you know any news.<p>love
Debi<p>Best of luck.<p>love
Debi

Julia,
I found this link on cs in MN. You might want to take a look at it.
http://www.dhs.state.mn.us/ecs/program/undercs/default.htm<p>
Dawn

Julia,<p>Here's another place for you to start:<p>http://www.supportguidelines.com/links.html<p>Hope it helps!<p>Love,<p>Tigger

Thanks for the input and the websites, they were helpful actually.<p>But does anyone have any info on assets and whether the courts take 'how much someone owns' into consideration when deciding the cs amt?<p>Again, if you guys can offer any more words of advice before we are thrown to the sharks [img]images/icons/mad.gif" border="0[/img] that would be great.<p>Julia

mnca,
I have a great deal of knowledge about CS etc. as I file petetions in the state in which I live. In most states a woman can not list a father or give a different last name than her own w/out signature of the father. However, there are ways around this. 1 - you can sign in at hospital using the last name of the father, thus the child automatically has that name. 2 - you can have another man (close friend etc.) sign as the father - they rarely request id at the hospital. <p>No, it does not matter how many bills you have. The father (if not paying CS for any other children) will (in most states) have to pay the OC 22 - 24% of his gross income, carry health insurance on child, pay half of all medical costs not covered by ins, and may even have to carry life insurance as well w/ OC as beneficiary. Your will can be contested. The truck and motorcycle are of no significance whatsoever - no need to change titles. Rent/own does not matter.<p>Now, a sneaky way to lower CS. If H is already paying out she will get less. For example, if you and he have 2 kids - and you have separated in most states he would have to pay you approx 27% gross income. So when she made her claim, the most they could get for 3 kids is about 30%. So they would divide it equal between the 2 of you each would receive 15% of his income. If you then get back w/ him, she would have to initiate court proceedings etc. to get her CS raised. Most mothers don't have the incentive, knowledge, or money to do so. If you have any other ?s let me know.

About the last name. Here in IA the mother can name the oc anything she wants to. Me and H didn't even know the oc had our last name for 2 mths after it was born.<p>As for child support. IS the dhs involved? Because for the 1st year we ended up paying 25% of what "WE" made. Yep, they used my income, and didn't get it fixed till THIS jan. so we over payed for a year!!!! She made more money because I worked and the lazy...fill in the blanks didn't! It was of course an error..but..we had to pay it all the same..at first we didn't and he ended up getting a contempt of court motion filed against him. So if there is a way, I would find out if you can "white out" your income if you file togeather, because guess what..we don't get that money back!!! I wish I knew if there was a way I could sue her for the money..but that is a question of another matter!

A couple of things I had forgotten to add.<p>As for the blood test, first your h will be sent a "letter" to admit or deny paturnity (spelling) then after that it should be pretty speedy...unless you OW desides to get a lawyer of her own (besides a dhs atty.) and then holds out for ummm lets say..6 or 7 mths..then drops it the case (her atty.) then the state will pick it up after that. And the state is quick! Our blood test results took 3 weeks but OW delayed it for a good nine mths with her crap! <p>The only way I know of to get cs reduced due to, visitation is to have the number of days the OC is at your home exceeding a certian limit. Believe me I thought of the same thing you did!!!!!!!!!

Yea, unfortunately (or fortunately, if i decide to leave) we don't have kids yet. This SHOULD have been OUR first, but now it is growing inside some two-bit whore! Scuse my french, i guess i'm pissed at this moment. Yea, so no kids to be sneaky and use the system to our advantage. <p>I have been giving it much thought though lately and i think i am 'outa here' very very soon, unless he hops in my moving truck with me. I will keep you all posted. <p>Again, thanks for the input and answers. It will help if i decide to go through this hell after all.<p>Julia

Julia,
SOW22MM is right about the betrayed wife filing for cs - and kudos to her for bringing it up. However, I would like to correct one thing. Here in the state of PA (I know you are in MN, just stating that I only know PA laws for certain), each child gets equal consideration. SOWMM says that:<p>"So when she made her claim, the most they could get for 3 kids is about 30%. So they would divide it equal between the 2 of you each would receive 15% of his income."<p>In truth, they would not divide the total amount in half between two women, they would divide it three ways between the threee children so that each got an equal share. Having filed for cs (h and I have 4 children) I was able to reduce ow's child support from about 40=45% of his pay (that figure includes child care that ow claimed to be paying) to under 10%. In my mind, it is a shame that more women don't take advantage of this legal loophole. <p>Also, in most states, including PA, the courts simply do not care how many bills the father has to pay - to be honest, they do not care if the father loses everything he has as long as the woman gets paid.<p>Good luck to you in your struggle.<p>-cd<p>[ January 18, 2002: Message edited by: cdcollins ]</p>

Julia,<p>In my state the only way for OC to have the fathers last name is if he signs an Acknowledgement of Paternity Form. If not the child has the mothers last name. exOW actually risked jail time, got a Notary (friend of the family) in trouble with the state because she forged H name on the form. <p>Find out what your state laws are before she gives birth. Since you and H don't have any children it isn't much you can do re: CS. Good luck.<p>
Unsure

cdcollins, <p>would you refresh my memory please? Did you and your husband file for separation or a divorce to get thru that loophole? Do you have to maintain separate addresses?<p>Thank you,
tinlizzy

Julia, <p> If I may, I'll play the Devil's Advocate. I have a pretty good understanding of the child support laws pertaining to MN.
First of all, when he goes to court, HE will be the only one allowed into the hearing. YOU will not be allowed in there due to the fact that it will have to do with the paternity issue. It's considered a parental right to be there,that of which you do NOT have. You may be married to him, but you have no rights to the child at all.
If he decides to try to the court system the run around, they adjudicate him the father. So, I would advise him make the appointment the court sets for him to complete the DNA testing. They will only give him 1 more chance to make the appointment if he fails to make the first one. After that his name goes on paper as the father, and support hearings proceed as planned.
As far as filing for joint custody(and then not being involved), MN is a Mommy-Friendly state, in order for him to get joint custody the situation would have to be pretty extreme because, most likely, it won't happen. And even if he did get joint custody, as long as the baby is with the custodial parent the majority of the time - he would still pay the full amount. In MN the amount consists of - 50% of the daycare costs, 50% of the medical costs, and 25% of his NET family income.
The state doesn't take into consideration HIS bills, HIS expenses, or HIS living situation. When he goes to court, the only person's needs that are really considered are the child's. If he makes enough money according to state guildlines - he will pay the 25% in cash, and then 50% daycare, and then he will be required to place the child on his medical insurance plan. Those are the laws. Period. No amount of whining, crying, or reasoning is going to change that, whether it's on his part or the mother's part.
I also read that he's a cop, then it's really in his best interests to pay CS on time, and not go into arrears. If he does go into default on the CS, the state can pull his POST license, his driver's license, and even issue warrant for his arrest.
As to his name being on the BC, he doesn't have to sign anything upon birth of the child as far as the BC goes. After the child is born, she can put his name on the BC if she wants to, he doesn't have a say in that. The only way his name would be taken off of the BC is if he was proven(DNA) not to be the father of the child. She may also, if she chooses to do so, give the child his last name. He does not need to consent to that either, because the mother can give the child any last name that she would like to give the child.
Sorry to say, when it omes to child support in MN, there aren't really a whole lot of ways to work around it. He will pay, it might take a while, but he will pay what he owes as far as the state is concerned. CS will start from day 1, the state will have pay the arrears that he incurred while waiting on the support order. So, it may be in his best interests to try to work something out with the mother as far as voluntary payments go, so he doesn't end up paying through the nose to catch up. But he should be sure to get receipts or keep a copy of the cashed check as proof that he payed.
Another thing, this is just me speaking from experience, don't take it out on the child. The child is NOT the guilty party(ies). He has an obligation toward the child just as well as the mother does. Was your father in your life as child? If he was, then you should know the importance of a dad's role in a child's life.
I have read some of your other postings, and you are obviously argry at the woman involved. The Devil's Advocate again, if she didn't have the full story, how can you be mad at her? It sounds like he lied to everyone close to the situation, so it sounds like one everyone should be argry with should be HIM! Had that been me(as wife), I would've been out the door in a split second, NO looking back.
But, again, the CS issue is out of YOUR hands. There is nothing YOU, or HE can do about it if the child is his. It is basically a waiting game.
If there is anything else you want to know, post it. I work in the legal field(if you can't tell), and would be happy to answer questions regarding this issue.

And another thing, someone replied speaking of filing for divorce and spousal support as a way to "screw the system". That won't work either, you haven't been married for over 7 years. You, legally, do not have a right to receive spousal maintenance.

Tinlizzy,
My h and I are technically separated, although it is solely to reduce ow's cs take. We do have separate "addresses" but they both pertain to the same house. We say his is apartment b and my half is apartment a. Domestic relations is well aware of our living arrangement and raised no objections to it. (although, naturally, they do not know that we aren't living separate lives). It has worked wonders for us in our battle against the outrageous child support laws. If you'd like more info., let me know.
-cd

Thanks, cd. We live in Wi, so don't know how it all works. In our case, as we're not sure, I guess anything that we would do legally would be kind of like an insurance policy. We're going to check out a lawyer soon and see what they have to say.<p>tinlizzy