Just Found Out I Might Have a Child After 6 Years

[ashheadlee]

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Indiana
I was just asked by an ex from 6-7 years ago to take a paternity test for a child i believe would be 6 or 7. Do I have rights to this Child and will I have to pay back support for the past 6-7 years, even though I had no idea the child was mine. I knew she was pregnant when we seperated but she said it was another mans child.

[Chede]

Did the ex just ask you or did she file for child support and list you as the father so now Child Support services is looking for paterntiy? Is this a court ordered paternity test, or just an ex asking you to take a test? Do you know if the other man is listed on the birth certificate?

[llworking]

My question involves a child custody case from the State of: Indiana
I was just asked by an ex from 6-7 years ago to take a paternity test for a child i believe would be 6 or 7. Do I have rights to this Child and will I have to pay back support for the past 6-7 years, even though I had no idea the child was mine. I knew she was pregnant when we seperated but she said it was another mans child.

At THIS time, you have no legal rights to the child at all, because you are not legally identified as the father. You won't have any legal rights unless a court allows you to open/challenge paternity and have a court ordered DNA test, and you petition for visitation/custody rights.

If the child has no legal father, this would be a fairly simple matter. If the child has a legal father, this could be quite complicated.

Whether or not you will have to pay any kind of back support depends on the overall circumstances. If mom has been on state aid, you will likely have to pay some back support. If she has not been, then back support would only go back to the date that a child support case was filed.