Parents have a legal obligation to care for and raise their children. When the parents are not married or not living together, courts can award child support to either parent. While men are often the party responsible for paying child support, their rights to pay or receive such support are not based on sex, but on the factors involved in each child support case.
Basis
Child support is a payment made from one parent to another to ensure a child's needs are financially met. It can be ordered by any court having jurisdiction over the child in any case that comes before it. As long as you are the child's legal father, you have the right to receive child support and the obligation to provide it.
Time Frame
Courts can award child support at any time after a father is awarded paternity rights. These orders continue as long as the child is a minor or until other conditions are present. For example, states allow for continued child support when a disabled child requires care after reaching the age of 18. Further, child support orders can be modified by the court as long as the paying party shows a significant change in circumstances that warrant a modification.
Considerations
A man can be ordered to pay child support, or receive child support, whether or not he and the mother are married. If there is a question of paternity, men also have the right to ask the court to order testing to prove who the child's father is. Though the methodology of this determination varies from state to state, the court can order testing performed on the mother, the child, the purported father, and any other interested parties.
Misconceptions
Child support obligations are not solely the responsibility of the father. Courts take a number of factors into consideration when awarding support: who the child's primary caretaker is, how much each party earns, and what the child's needs are. The parent's sex is irrelevant to these decisions, and states have specific laws stating that courts cannot take sex into consideration as a factor when awarding support.
Warning
A child support obligation, or right, can have a significant impact on your life. You should always talk to a qualified attorney in your area if you have any questions or concerns about child support and your rights as a father. Many attorneys specialize in father's rights issues and can provide you with up-to-date information about rights and obligations in your state.
