[jlwchief]

Good Day all,

I am in the military and currently stationed in Florida. I had relations with the child's mother 11 years ago when I lived in Vegas, she got pregnant and told me I was the father. She moved back to NY and sent me a court order for child support. I got the wrong advice in the Vegas courts, I never got a DNA test done. I always felt he was not my son and I see him sparingly. I, if I am lucky get to see him once a year (for 2 weeks) I tried to deny my feelings and say "he looks like his mother", he doesn't resemble anyone in my family. This last summer I got fed up because he doesn't look like his mother like he used to, but he doesn't look like me at all. I have been paying child support and communicated with him the whole 10 years. About a month ago I finally asked her for a paternity test and she flew off the rack. She will not give me a test voluntarily. I need to get a court order. I have went to a couple shotty lawyers here and they said that there is nothing I could do. How can I petition the NY courts? What can I do? It feels like I am spinning my wheels.

Thank you for reading this

[rmet4nzkx]

You would have to petition the NV courts where paternity was established, did you sign an AOP? Are there any court orders? Have you tried to do a private paternity when you have the child for visitation? Have your child support payments gone through CSE or your military pay?

[tinykim]

The best thing that you can do for yourself, with such a complex matter, is seek out the advice of a qualified family law attorney, particularly one who specializeds in father's rights. The tide has shifted - the balance is no longer in favor of the mother. You should contact the bar association in your area and see if there's an attorney who practices in both Florida and New York (it's nice to be able to LOOK in the eyes of a person that you are paying and relying on! !) Or check out such sites as www.themenscenter.com for referrals. Just make sure that the person whom you choose is qualified to handle the area of law that concerns you. Don't use the attorney who handled the settlement on your home or your sister's divorce. You want someone who is experienced in paternity issues, particularly ones with jurisdictional issues. You wouldn't go to a podiatrist if your medical problem involved the most prized area of your anatomy, would you? Of course not! You would definitely run to a urologist! Well, this is no different!

[COLOR="SeaGreen"]GOOD LUCK![/COLOR]

[jlwchief]

Thank you both for your replies. Answer to 1st qustion is yes, I am paying child support through military, and i did sign on court order to pay child support, assuming i was the or am the father.

i am still looking for a decent lawyer that will handle this. the 2 that i have talk to in florida so far said that there is nothing i can do...which i fell is BS

[rmet4nzkx]

There are some things you can and others you can not do at this point. Since the child is or was a resident of NV/NY when paternity and child support were established, you will need to consult an attorney in NV/NY and since you are military, if and or when paternity is disproved or disestablished by the courts due to a DNA test disproving paternity, there is an entire separate process which will require an attorney familar with military law to assist you in severing the allotments and still keep your military record clean which can vary from command to command.

Have you petitioned the court in the child's state/county of residence or where the orders were established, for custody or visitation orders? This is very important if you are the biological father or for some reason unable to disestablish paternity if you not the biological father. Are you able to prove some sort of fraud? You say you were advised by the courts to accept paternity? The courts cannot give you legal advice per se and 11 years ago was at a time when the use of Acknowledgement of Paternity came into use, which may have resulted in you being encouraged to agree WITHOUT DUE PROCESS, which may in turn give you grounds to request a court ordered DNA test now. Also you may be able to petition the court to appoint a GAL to represent the best interest of "your child". Mom doesn't have to allpw the child to visit without a visitation order and even so, there may be restrictions on it or there may be different plans depending upon your military requirements.