Question:
My husband had an encounter with a woman 14 years ago. As a result, she had a daughter. He signed his rights away when she was born and seen her only a few times her whole life. The mother has been married and had a son with another man. The daughter refers to him as dad. My husband and I have two young daughters of our own. The other woman found out that he is making a nice salary and decided to sue for child support after all these years. We now have 954.00 taken out of my husbands check and just got a bill for another 910.00 for 14 years retroactive. If we pay the additional 910.00 a month our two little girls will have to do without. Where's the justice for them? Do we have any recourse considering the circumstances?
Answer:
I am not licensed in that State of Florida and therefore cannot answer your question specifically to the laws of that State. I am confused by the facts presented. If your husband signed away his rights, then he would not have any right to visit with the child, but the mother would have no right to collect child support. If he really terminated his parental rights you need to have that fact presented to the court that entered the child support order. Second, has there been a paternity test? Third was there an establishment of paternity by a court of law? Fourth, in my jurisdiction the court can only go back for child support for a period of ten years. Anything before that time is bared by the Statute of Limitations. Finally, there are limits to how much may be withheld from someone's net pay each month. If they are exceeding the federal or State guidelines on that issue you may have the right to quash the wage assignment. I highly suggest you contact a local attorney to review your case and options.
