Duty of Support for My Step-Son

My question involves child support in the State of: Washington

I got married to my current wife in 2009. She has a son from a previous relationship, and paternity was never established for him. I decided to sign the paternity affidavit asserting myself as the father. We now have a birth certificate with my name on it. My ex wife and I are undergoing a child support modification. My ex wife claims that I do not owe a duty of support to my current wife's child because since I am not the biological father, then even the paternity affidavit doesn't count for me to deviate from the standard calculation for support for my other two. Is she right? Or since my son is my son, and I signed for him, I owe a duty of support?

He's not your stepson. He's your son.

So she says that I have to have to enter a decree of adoption for him, but I was told that since there was no established paternity, then the AOP was all I needed to become legally bound to him. Is this correct?

Sigh...no, what you've actually done is commit fraud; that AOP specifically requires you to sign under penalty of perjury that you're the father and this is obviously not the case, since your current wife AND YOU knew the child was from a previous relationship.

You cannot sign the AOP knowing that you're not actually the biological father.

She's right in one sense - you should have gone through the legal route of adopting him. What you've done is often referred to as a type of "back door adoption".

Let's just hope bio Dad doesn't come out of the woodwork and have it all overturned :(

However, the base answer to your question is that you are - currently - the child's only legal father and as such are responsible for supporting him.

Out of curiousity. What is the difference per month? Is it going to be worth the trouble?

It was ok to name him your son while you were together, it shouldn't be a problem now that you are apart. He isn't your step son if your name is on his birth certificate.

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Quoting TheTruth84

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It was ok to name him your son while you were together, it shouldn't be a problem now that you are apart. He isn't your step son if your name is on his birth certificate.

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Re-read the original post.

(In other words, is he able to count this child in order to deviate from the guidelines - and the answer to that is "yes")

He's not referring to the child he had with the ex-wife, but the child he has with his current wife.

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Quoting Dogmatique

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He's not referring to the child he had with the ex-wife, but the child he has with his current wife.

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Who is not his biological son. Hence the term "Step-Son".

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Quoting Lawrence084

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Who is not his biological son. Hence the term "Step-Son".

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Wrong.

He signed the AOP and became the child's LEGAL parent.

(Albeit in an underhanded way).

The child is NOT OP's stepson - just his legal son.

There is no "step" about it.

Quote:

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Quoting Dogmatique

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Wrong.

He signed the AOP and became the child's LEGAL parent.

(Albeit in an underhanded way).

The child is NOT OP's stepson - just his legal son.

There is no "step" about it.

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Sorry...

I was quoting the OP subject line of his thread.