Do I Have to Pay Child Support if We Never Got Married

Couples who are unmarried and do not live together often deal with child support issues. I am frequently asked, “Do I have to pay child support if I was never married?” The answer is “Yes.”

As a general rule, even if you were never married, the law requires every parent to support their children financially. Usually, when this question comes up, it is a question of paternity. “Paternity” means fatherhood. Whether you will be required to pay child support will depend on whether you are the father.

In this article, I will share some things you need to know if you have a child outside of marriage. We’ll get into the specifics below.

After reading this article, you will learn the following:

What to do if you are unsure you are the child’s father?
Do you have to pay child support if you are not on the birth certificate?
Do you still have to pay child support if you’re being denied visitation?
Do you have to pay child support if you sign away your parental rights?

In the end, you will thoroughly understand what you need to know if you have a paternity question or a question about child support when you have a child outside of marriage.

What Should You Do if You are Unsure You Are the Child’s Father?

If you are unsure you are the child’s father, you should seek a genetic test and a court ruling on paternity. Genetic testing (also known as DNA testing) involves a swipe of a cotton swab inside your cheek and the cheek of the child and mother. The samples are then sent to a laboratory for testing. If the genetic test results show at least a 98 percent probability that you are the father, then most states would presume you are the child’s father.

If the genetic testing comes back positive, paternity is established. This means you are the legal father of the child. With the establishment of paternity, you have the legal right to custody and visitation with the child. You also have access to the child’s school and medical records and participate in making significant decisions about your child’s life.

Along with being named the legal father of a child comes the responsibility to pay child support. Once the genetic testing returns positive, most couples agree that the father’s name will be added to the birth certificate.

Do I Have to Pay Child Support if I’m not on the Birth Certificate?

What if you’re not on the birth certificate? Do you still have to pay child support? The answer is “No.”

As a general rule, if you are not listed on the birth certificate you are not obligated to pay child support. Since you a not married and your name is not listed on the birth certificate, you have no legal rights to the child. This includes no obligation to pay child support. But not being on the birth certificate also means no rights to custody and visitation.

Suppose you are not on the birth certificate but believe you are the father and would like legal rights and visitation with the child. In that case, you will need to establish legal paternity. To establish paternity, you must acknowledge that you are the child’s father and take legal responsibility for the child.

To begin the process, you can sign a paternity affidavit and file it with the court. This affidavit indicates and acknowledges that you believe you are the child’s father and would like to establish yourself as the legal father. The mother’s signature on the affidavit is required to establish paternity. If the mother refuses to sign the affidavit, the father can request a DNA test to be completed by court order. You will need a family law attorney to guide you through this process.

Once paternity is established, you will be the legal father and have legal rights to your child. This includes rights to custody, visitation, and the obligation to pay child support.

If you and the child’s mother agree that you are the child’s father, you can always go back and add your name to the birth certificate. Birth certificates can also be amended at any time. If a father is not listed on the birth certificate at the time of the child’s birth, the father’s name can be added.

Do I Have to Pay Child Support if I’m Being Denied Visitation?

A frequent question is, “Do I have to pay child support if I’m being denied visitation?”

As a general rule, you are required to pay child support even if visitation is being denied. If one parent refuses to allow the other parent visitation, that parent may not use that as a reason to withhold or stop paying child support. Likewise, a parent may not refuse to allow or cut back the other parent’s visitation simply because the other parent has not paid their child’s support. Payment of child support and visitation are legally independent matters.

It should also be pointed out that not paying child support can come with severe penalties. Those include:

Suspension of your driver’s license.
Wage garnishment. With wage garnishment, child support payments are automatically and legally deducted from your paychecks.
Deduction for your federal tax refund.

Do You Have to Pay Child Support if You Sign Away Your Parental Rights?

A common question is, “Do I have to pay child support if I sign away my parental rights?”

Generally, an agreement to give up your parental rights will not relieve you of the obligation to pay child support. Courts are very reluctant to waive child support, even with the termination of parental rights, unless another responsible party adopts the child.

Giving up parental rights is not an easy process. If you decide to give up your parental rights, it will take approval from the child’s other parent and a judge. It’s been my experience that courts are reluctant to terminate parental rights unless another person is stepping in to adopt the child. Short of that, courts will typically only terminate parental rights if that is in the child’s best interests.

If you wish to terminate your parental rights, you can file a petition asking to terminate your parental rights. Courts generally use a two-pronged analysis to determine if a parent’s rights should be removed. First, since a parent-child relationship is assumed to be in the child’s best interest, clear, compelling, and convincing evidence must prove the grounds for the termination of the parent’s rights. Second, the termination of parental rights must be found to be in the child’s best interest.

What are the Reasons for Terminating a Parent’s Rights?

The typical reasons a court would terminate a par’s rights include:

Abandonment of the child.
Neglect of the child.
Severe risk of physical, emotional, and mental injury to the child if rights are not terminated.
Failure to correct a problem after child protective services have removed a child from the parent.
Sexual assault on the child.
Mental illness of the parent.
Alcohol or drug incapacity.

If your parental rights are terminated, you are no longer the child’s legal parent. This means:

The parent-child relationship is terminated and no longer exists.
You do not get to participate in raising the child.
You do not have the right to visitation with the child.
You no longer have to pay child support.
You will be removed from the child’s birth certificate.
The child can be adopted without your permission.