Can Back Child Support Be Owed When Paternity is Proven in New York?
Full Question:
Answer:
It is possible for back child support to be ordered if paternity is proven. In New York, the statute of limitations for bringing a paternity suit is when the child reaches age 21. A court will not automatically order paternity tests simply because a paternity action has been filed. It will review the petition to determine if there is sufficient information contained therein to warrant or justify the compelling of such a test. If the court orders a paternity test, the mother, child, and alleged father will all be tested at a court-designated facility. A court determination of paternity is final, and a copy of the court's order will be needed to establish the child's rights, both present and future. A man is presumed to be the father if he has been married to the mother for a certain time before the child is born. That presumption may be rebutted by clear and convincing standards of evidence, such as a DNA test. A man not a presumed father may bring an action for the purpose of declaring that he is the natural father of a child having a presumed father.
Please see the following from NY statutes:
Any retroactive amount of child support shall be support arrears/past-due support and shall be paid in one sum or periodic sums as the court shall direct, taking into account any amount of temporary support which has been paid. In addition, such retroactive child support shall be enforceable in any manner provided by law including, but not limited to, an execution for support enforcement pursuant to subdivision (b) of section fifty-two hundred forty-one of the civil practice law and rules. The court shall direct such parent to make his or her residence known at all times should he or she move from the address last known to the court by reporting such change to the support collection unit designated by the appropriate social services district. The order shall contain the social security numbers of the named parents. The order may also direct each parent to pay an amount as the court may determine and apportion for the support of the child prior to the making of the order of filiation, and may direct each parent to pay an amount as the court may determine and apportion for:
(i) the funeral expenses if the child has died;
(ii) the necessary expenses incurred by or for the mother in connection with her confinement and recovery; and
(iii) such expenses in connection with the pregnancy of the mother as the court may deem proper. In addition, the court shall make provisions for health insurance benefits in accordance with the requirements of section four hundred sixteen of this act.
2. The court, in its discretion, taking into consideration the means of the father and his ability to pay and the needs of the child, may direct the payment of a reasonable sum or periodic sums to the mother as reimbursement for the needs of the child accruing from the date of the birth of the child to the date of the application for an order of filiation.
PART 5
RELATED PROCEEDINGS
Sections:
561. Proceedings to compel support by mother.
562. Proceedings to compel support by mother and father.
563. Paternity and support proceedings combined; apportionment.
564. Order of filiation in other proceedings.
565. A proceeding to challenge testing directive.
S 561. Proceedings to compel support by mother.
Proceedings may be initiated under article four of this act to compel a mother who fails to support her child to do so in accord with the provisions of article four of this act.
S 562. Proceedings to compel support by mother and father.
Proceedings to compel a father who does not deny paternity of a child and the mother of the child to support the child may be instituted in accord with the provisions of article four of this act, unless an agreement or compromise is made in accord with section five hundred seventeen.
S 563. Paternity and support proceedings combined; apportionment.
When a proceeding to establish paternity is initiated under this article, the court on its own motion or on motion of any person qualified under article four of this act to file a support petition may direct the filing of a petition under article four to compel the mother to support her child. If the court enters an order of filiation, it may apportion the costs of the support and education of the child between the parents according to their respective means and responsibilities.