June 2006


Can a Grandparent Demand a Paternity Test?

Summary

Can a grandparent demand a paternity test on the grandchild? With or without the parent’s consent?

Dear Esq. is not intended as direct personal legal advice. For direct personal legal advice regarding your own state and situation you should consult a local attorney. → You should not and may not rely on anything on this website as legal advice.

“Can a grandparent demand a paternity test on the grandchild? With or without the parent’s consent?”

No.

And an additional question is why, if the parents don’t wish to do a paternity test themselves, you would want to do so without their permission. Hard as it is to see grown children make what we think are mistakes, they are grown children, and the choices they make are theirs to make.

Can My Fiance’s Ex-Wife Sue Me for Child Support?

Summary

Can my fiance’s ex-wife sue me for his child support in Texas?

Dear Esq. is not intended as direct personal legal advice. For direct personal legal advice regarding your own state and situation you should consult a local attorney. → You should not and may not rely on anything on this website as legal advice.

“Can my fiancé’s ex-wife sue me for his child support in Texas?”


It depends. First, if you are not married, than no, she can’t. Secondly, once you are married, can she come right out and sue you directly to make you support the children? No. But there are ways that she can get at your income for child support, particularly if your new husband were to choose not to work, or to be underemployed, and to live off your income.

In addition, generally, this will depend on the state. In some states, most notably community property states, the court can and may (although rarely does) look at a new wife’s income when calculating support because all income earned during the marriage is community property.

Again, it is rare, and only in extenuating circumstances. For the most part if the father is duly employed, and paying the state-mandated amount of child support, and is current, a court is much less likely to go through the machinations to take a new spouse’s income into account.

All that said, y ou should definitely consult with a Texas family law attorney about your own particular situation to see how you can best ensure that it doesn’t happen.