Do you have to be a child's biological parent to be forced to pay child support?

Batman_100

Hi.

Here's my circumstances.

Me and my partner have recently split up. My ex has a 4 year old daughter from a previous relationship. Although I'm not her daughters biological father and I've never had formal parental responsibilities, can she still take me to the CSA to make me pay child support?

I've offered to pay a voluntary contribution of £20 a month to her daughters trust find until she's 18, but my ex says this isn't good enough.

I don't know if this is relevant, but the child's biological father has not seen his daughter for over 3 years and does not pay child support. We've contact the CSA but they are unable to contact him and we think he may have emigrated.

Can anyone help?

MissMoneyBags

If your not the childs biological father then your under no obligation whatsoever to provide for her at all.

if anything its lovely that you've offered to put somthinge away for her future but I'd tell your ex that she can take what your offering or she can whistle dixie for anything else.

Batman_100

Thanks. I'm only asking because I received a strongly worded text message from my ex yesterday saying that if I don't make a more 'realistic contribution' she would consider court action. She knows full well I'm not the father (my ex was already heavily pregnant when I first met her), but she claims there's been a recent change in the law and that because I lived with her and her daughter in a 'family relationship', she can claim for child support.

Is she just trying to blackmail me or does she have a serious case?

HappyMJ

Batman_100 wrote: »

Thanks. I'm only asking because I received a strongly worded text message from my ex yesterday saying that if I don't make a more 'realistic contribution' she would consider court action. She knows full well I'm not the father (my ex was already heavily pregnant when I first met her), but she claims there's been a recent change in the law and that because I lived with her and her daughter in a 'family relationship', she can claim for child support.

Is she just trying to blackmail me or does she have a serious case?

She'll be wasting her money. She can only take the daughters biological father to court.

It is different if you had adopted her but you've said you've never had parental responsibility so that's unlikely.

pmlindyloo

Send her this link from CAB's website:

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/relationships_e/relationships_children_and_young_people_e/relationships_child_maintenance/relationships_child_maintenance_2012_scheme/relationships_child_maintenance_eligibility_and_rules/do_you_have_to_pay_child_maintenance_under_the_2012_child_maintenance_scheme.htm

and ask her to provide the legislation that supports her stance.

Batman_100

I think she's trying to claim I her financial obligations because we lived together at the same address for a period of time.

FBaby

She is living on cuckoo land!

Saying that, it sounds like you have been this child father's figure, in which case, are you going to cut off contact? I assume if you would like contact as a father, you would see it fair to contribute as would her biological father?

HappyMJ

Batman_100 wrote: »

I think she's trying to claim I her financial obligations because we lived together at the same address for a period of time.

If you were married to her you could be liable for spousal maintenance (children not required) but you haven't mentioned marriage.

Batman_100

FBaby wrote: »

She is living on cuckoo land!

Saying that, it sounds like you have been this child father's figure, in which case, are you going to cut off contact? I assume if you would like contact as a father, you would see it fair to contribute as would her biological father?

And it's the father figure but that makes her think that I've got financial obligations. She keeps saying she'll let me have contact, but she wants it to be on her terms, and her new bf has kids from a previous relationship who he's the main carer for (don't know what happened to their mum), so I doubt it'll be long before she gets into the mindset if them being their own little family and will what me out the picture.

Batman_100

HappyMJ wrote: »

If you were married to her you could be liable for spousal maintenance (children not required) but you haven't mentioned marriage.

No, we were never married.

justontime

Are you named as the father on the child's birth certificate? If you are I believe CSA can assume parentage, but even so you could request a DNA test and prove that you are not the father.