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Can the State Withhold the Name of a Child from the Person Paying Child Support

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  • 07-06-2014, 12:54 PM
    Cheerhan
    Can the State Withhold the Name of a Child from the Person Paying Child Support
    My question involves child support in the State of:Missouri
    I recently found out that 9 months ago there was a paternity suit filed against my boyfriend and he was ordered to pay child support. He claims he knows nothing about any of this. He never received a summons, never went to court, and has not received anything telling him who to pay or how to even pay. He has no idea who the mom or the child is. He says that he called the Director of Family Support (the name on the suit against him) and she could not give him any information over the phone. He has supposedly gotten a lawyer that is having a heck of a time getting any information. It has been two weeks and he still does not know the name of the child or the mother. How is this possible or legal? He was taken to court without his knowledge and they refuse to tell him who his child is. Do I have any right to any of this information since I am pregnant with his child? He does have DNA on file with the state from a fraudulent paternity suit 4 years ago.
  • 07-06-2014, 01:12 PM
    flyingron
    Re: Can the State Withhold the Name of a Child from the Person Paying Child Support
    The lawyer will be the one to ask. It's quite possible that he was named on the birth certificate as the father. What likely happened is the mother/child went on public assistance of some sort and the DFS is attempting to recoup that from him. No it should not be a secret, but it's doubtful that it would be disclosed over the phone or in any form outside of a court action.
  • 07-06-2014, 01:13 PM
    aardvarc
    Re: Can the State Withhold the Name of a Child from the Person Paying Child Support
    Quote:

    Quoting Cheerhan
    View Post
    He claims he knows nothing about any of this.

    We have no way to evaluate his credibility. He might know everything; he might know nothing.


    Quote:

    He never received a summons, never went to court, and has not received anything telling him who to pay or how to even pay.
    If he wasn't properly served, he may have avenues to explore. He really needs the assistance of an attorney.


    Quote:

    He has no idea who the mom or the child is. He says that he called the Director of Family Support (the name on the suit against him) and she could not give him any information over the phone.
    Then how did he find out about the suit against him?


    Quote:

    He has supposedly gotten a lawyer that is having a heck of a time getting any information.
    That shouldn't be the case. Either his attorney is just busy and hasn't gotten the information to him yet, or he's not being honest with you. If the state has a case against him, any attorney should be able to get that information relatively quickly and easily.

    Quote:

    It has been two weeks and he still does not know the name of the child or the mother. How is this possible or legal?
    Because in the legal world, two weeks of time is like the blink of an eye. Just the records request could easily take that long.


    Quote:

    He was taken to court without his knowledge and they refuse to tell him who his child is.
    That's why his attorney needs to get the records. They're not going to give out information over the phone.


    Quote:

    Do I have any right to any of this information since I am pregnant with his child?
    None at all. You're just going to have to wait and see what his attorney comes up with.


    With that said, Missouri is one of the states with relatively decent information available about its cases online. Check out this link, put in his last name, and you may be able to find or verify at least some of the information he told you:

    https://www.courts.mo.gov/casenet/ca...earchType=name
  • 07-06-2014, 01:30 PM
    Cheerhan
    Re: Can the State Withhold the Name of a Child from the Person Paying Child Support
    Thank you. Casenet and a nosy sister is actually how I found out in the first place, which in turn is how he found out. This has already gone to court and he has been ordered an amount to pay all without him present. Would the courts have accessed the DNA on record or could he have just lost by default since he was not there?
  • 07-06-2014, 01:45 PM
    mmmagique
    Re: Can the State Withhold the Name of a Child from the Person Paying Child Support
    He lost by default. If he can prove he wasn't served, he may be able to get the order set aside without prejudice, but then he'll still have to submit to dna testing.
  • 07-07-2014, 11:34 AM
    aardvarc
    Re: Can the State Withhold the Name of a Child from the Person Paying Child Support
    Exactly. If he IS actually the biological father, he's going to be nailed either way. If he's NOT the actual father, he's going to have to prove to the court that he was not properly notified of the proceedings (ie improper service); which in MO generally means that he was served in person, OR, the summons was served on a person over the age of 15 living at his residence. (MS 506.150)

    Ask him who was living with him when the summons went out.
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