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Hi, my name isXXXXX and i live in Oklahoma. I recently got a woman pregnant, Megan, who lives in Arkansas. Me and her have split up and emotions have been running high as i have fell in love with someone else. Megan has repeatly said that i will have no part in my child's life and it would not have my last name and on top of all that i would be paying child support. She also mentioned she would be moving 12 hours away from me so that i would not be able to see my child. Taking all of this I would rather not be in my child's life because of all the drama Megan would cause in it's life. Having said that i would like to know if i still am obligated to pay child support seeing as the baby will not even have my last name but hers?
Already Tried: I have only asked family and friends about the issue but none of which has any clues about the laws. Megan is only 10 weeks pregnant and has already got me down with all the harrassing and somewhat depressed. I jus want to know if I'm going to have to be involved with her or if i can just shrug all these threats off my shoulder. Thank you sincerely, Ross Childress
Good afternoon,I'm sorry to hear of your dilemma.Presuming that Megan files a petition to determine paternity, and presuming that it is proved that you are the father, the court will order that you pay child support for the child. There is no way around it. You will have the option to have custody/visitation with your child as well. However, even if you chose not to be in your child's life, the court will order you to pay child support until the child reaches the age of majority and is emancipated.I wish you well in your future.
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Best regards,
Doug
What can i do about her moving 12 hours away from me? Am i going to drive all that way 2 see my child or do they designate a middle ground we meet at? And to add to the child support thing I don't have a job. And how do they designate how much u are 2 pay?
Good afternoon Ross, While I strive to give you an accurate and applicable answer to your question, I don’t have the ability to provide you with favorable law if it doesn't exist. As you read my answer to your question, I ask you to please don't shoot the messenger. She already lives in a different state than you. You can not even attempt to stop her from moving until the baby is born. The moment the baby is born you can file for a determination of paternity, and then file for custody/visitation and ask the court to order her not to move.The reality is that you are not going to marry her and you can't expect her to remain in the same area as you for the next 2 decades just for your convenience.The court will allow her to move where she wants if the court finds it is in the best interest of the child. You will probably get visitation on alternating major holidays and 4 to 8 weeks during the summer.If you don't have a job you had better find one, because if you are able to be employed and simply are not, the court will impute income to you and force you to pay support based on the income you could be earning if you were employed.You can figure that you will be paying between 15% and 20% of your income for child support for at least the first 18 years after your child is born.I wish you well.
Attorney
I am a practicing attorney with more than 27 years of experience in the legal field.