[joesmith]

Child was concieved in 1987 and born in New York from a very short affair.

At the time mother refused to do any paternity testing and the issue was dropped as my husband assumed the child was not his as they used birth control and she refused to test and he had only seen her twice.
Plus the dates were off.

No father is listed on birth cert.

A few years later she moved to Puerto Rico, we moved to Hawaii.

18 years later she contacts us, the child is almost 19, just finished high school.

She insist it is my husbands child.

He again asks for a test and she agrees.

A DNA test was done using a company that certified it for legal use.

We paid for the test and only we got the written results .

She has no copies of this.

Test showed he was the father.

We did tell them the results

My question is this.

If she wants to establish paternity and get child support ( back support etc )
which states rules would be followed?

Hawaii 's age of majority is 18 , PR's is 21.

Thanks for any help

[Just Breath]

I assume that no parentage/support case was ever started in any jurisdiction by the mother. If she were to file a petition for parentage/support now, the jurisdiction would be puerto rico since that is where the child resides. HOWEVER, without having researched the law in PR, I'm guessing it's too late for her to seek any support now. In fact, it may be too late for her to bring any suit since the child is no longer a minor. However, the child can bring a suit to establish paternity, simply for the purpose of establishing who his father is.

Has she indicated that she wants money?

[joesmith]

I assume that no parentage/support case was ever started in any jurisdiction by the mother. If she were to file a petition for parentage/support now, the jurisdiction would be puerto rico since that is where the child resides. HOWEVER, without having researched the law in PR, I'm guessing it's too late for her to seek any support now. In fact, it may be too late for her to bring any suit since the child is no longer a minor. However, the child can bring a suit to establish paternity, simply for the purpose of establishing who his father is.

Has she indicated that she wants money?

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Thank you.

She has not said she wanted support, and no parentage/support case was ever started. The age of majority in PR is 21 however.

I do not know if she will do anything, I would hate to get hit with 19 years of back support, so I guess I am just trying to know what to prepare for, just in case.

[joesmith]

Also, I guess I am confused by this information I found

http://www.childsupportoptions.org/options/faq.htm#one




Steps to Collect Child Support - FAQ for Custodial Parents

I need to establish paternity for my child, and the father lives in another part of the country. How does this work?

The fact that you and the alleged father live in different States will not keep you from pursuing a paternity establishment action. Your State may be able to claim jurisdiction and establish paternity if the alleged father had lived there or the child was conceived in your State. Otherwise your State can petition the other State to establish paternity under their laws. Often, genetic tests will be ordered to help prove paternity. Ask your caseworker for specific information about the laws in your State and the State where the other parent lives.

Step Two: Establishing the Obligation

The fair amount of child support that the non-custodial parent should pay is determined according to mandatory state guidelines. If you do not know where the non-custodial parent (NCP) lives, your caseworker can assist you by using state and federal locate information to try to find him or her. Once the support order is established, it will include the amount of money that the parent should provide on a regular bases and will include provision for medical support. If the parent lives in another state, the child support enforcement agency may have to ask the state where he or she lives to establish the order.

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So does that mean Hawaii might establish the order
under PR rules? Or Under Hawaii rules?

Thanks again.