Archive for category Paternity
Bieber baby fever!
Posted by Kelly Thames in Paternity on November 21, 2011
Contributed by Kelly D. Thames, Attorney & Counselor at Law, kthames@steele-law.com
Hollywood has been throwing some dirt my way lately, first Kim Kardashian and now Bieber. You probably don’t need a re-cap, but Mariah Yeater claims that she had a 30-second sexual encounter with Justin Bieber when he was 16 and the result was a gurgling little baby boy. Justin Bieber’s alleged Baby Mama has withdrawn her L.A. lawsuit, but The Biebs has supposedly agreed to take a DNA test to establish his paternity, or lack thereof.
It is not uncommon in Parentage cases to have a DNA test done. If the alleged father has not signed the Voluntary Acknowledgement of Paternity (also known as the V.A.P.) and is not on the birth certificate, then a DNA test is the route to establishing who the Baby Daddy is. If you want child support and the father isn’t agreeing to fathering the child, a genetic test is in order.
What makes this case a little more interesting is that a local Chicago attorney has decided to take on the case: an attorney that champions himself a Father’s Rights Attorney.
What makes this case a little questionable is the fact that the Biebs is 17 and Mariah Yeater alleges that the sexual encounter happened when he was just 16 and she was 19. It sounds like there could be a potential criminal suit filed against her for taking part in the alleged sexual encounter, a la statutory rape charges. But that’s not my area.
Keeping records
Posted by Kelly Thames in Alimony, Child Custody, Child Support, Divorce, In the Courtroom, Maintenance, Modification & Enforcement, Paternity, Spousal Support on October 31, 2011
Contributed by Kelly D. Thames, Attorney & Counselor at Law, kthames@steele-law.com
I was watching the “Ron and Tammys” episode of Parks & Recreation last night, where Ron is being audited by the IRS because of his ex-wife, Tammy 1. Ron’s recordkeeping is hilariously awful: he has notes of purchase that he wrote himself; he has a picture of himself shaking hands with another guy as proof of a “gentlemen’s agreement;” he doesn’t have bank accounts or formal records and he buries gold in various places; he also has decoy gold. Although this type of recordkeeping is over-the-top silly, it made me think about clients in divorce cases.
People don’t often think about what could happen if a marriage goes sour and so they don’t keep meticulous or organized records in preparation for a divorce or child support case. When one party files for divorce and discovery starts to happen, it becomes a huge ordeal to gather financial documents that are required when one side files a notice to produce documents and a request for a financial disclosure statement. Divorces can get dragged on for years because a party is not organized in their financial life, which significantly increases the cost of the divorce.
It is probably not very likely that you will be audited by the IRS these days, in fact, Ron’s audit was fake, it was just because Tammy 1 wanted to assess his financial situation before deciding that she wanted to “take him back.” By the way, that is not a healthy relationship, but that’s an entirely different post!
The basic message here: the IRS has three years from the date you file your income tax returns to audit your return if it suspects good faith errors, six years for underreporting your gross income by 25% or more, and no time limit for fraudulent returns. Most divorce attorneys will request the same three years of documents when there are financial issues in a domestic relations case. Your attorney won’t hunt and gather those documents for you – that is your job. The Illinois State Bar Association keeps a list of standard Matrimonial Interrogatories on their website, so you can see what kinds of financial information may be requested of you during a contested family law matter.
As in many other areas of life, I like to quote the Girl Scout motto, “Be prepared.”
The importance of establishing paternity
Posted by Kelly Thames in Child Support, Paternity on October 20, 2011
Every so often, my firm will get an inquiry that goes a little something like this:
“Hello, I have two children and I need to get child support from the babies’ daddy.
He’s been paying since they were born, but now we want to make it official.”
Before the court can even consider calculating child support, paternity must first be established. But why? Once paternity is established legally, a child gains legal rights and privileges. It is important to establish paternity, even if the child is living with the father so that the father can collect child support from the non-custodial mother.
On the other hand, if the father is the non-custodial parent, even if he initially agrees to support the child, he may later change his mind, become disabled, or die. As a result, it is important to establish paternity to make sure that the child’s rights are clear. Additionally, the child can also develop a relationship with the other parent. It may be important to the health of the child to have knowledge of the other parent’s medical history.
Many parents wish to establish paternity without having to go to court. The child’s father can do this by signing a voluntary acknowledgment of paternity (VAP). A VAP becomes a conclusive presumption of paternity unless a rescission is signed and filed within 60 days. VAP forms are available at the hospital where the child is born, and at all Illinois Healthcare and Family Service regional offices.
If the father denies paternity or isn’t sure, paternity can be determined by administrative or judicial procedures that take into account highly accurate genetic tests conducted on blood or tissue samples of the man, mother, and child. Genetic tests indicate the probability of paternity and can establish a legal presumption of paternity. Each party in a contested paternity case must submit to tests at the request of either party or the child support enforcement agency. Now, if the parties already submitted to testing prior to bringing this matter to court and the test results show a presumption of paternity, the father should sign a VAP to establish paternity legally.
Once paternity is established legally, the child gains legal rights and privileges, such as collecting child support from the non-custodial parent.
If you have any questions about establishing paternity, it is best to speak with an attorney to assess your situation and defend your rights. The above information was extracted from the Illinois Attorney General’s office. You can read more about child support in the state of Illinois here.
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