Feb
19
Linda asked:
I am about to marry the love of my life in the state of Alabama. He has a 5 year old son from a fling, was never married to the mother. The bio mother’s mom (his son’s grandmother) adopted the baby because the bio mom was only a young teen. The grandmother asked my fiance to remain out of the picture and let her and her husband raise the baby. He has no contact with them, has not heard from them in years, and pays no child support. He is completely willing to pay support and be in the child’s life if that’s what the grandmother and mother ever decide they want, but it has not happened yet. I am worried that when I marry him, they are entitled to my assets. I am in the last semester of my Ph.D., and will make significantly more money than him. We have decided that when we start a family, he will be a stay at home dad and my job will provide our only income. If his other family (son, bio mom, and grandmother) decided to ask for child support, will my income influence the payments? Will the payments be high because my fiance’s cost of living is so low due to me being the sole bread-winner? Can a pre-nup protect me from being at all financially responsible to this child?
I am only 25, and do not feel like I should have to support a child that is not mine anytime soon, and my fiance agrees. He says he will find a way to pay whatever the payments are and he wants to be in his son’s life if that’s what the other side wants, but I am worried the payments will be too high due to my income being a factor.
Evelyne
I am about to marry the love of my life in the state of Alabama. He has a 5 year old son from a fling, was never married to the mother. The bio mother’s mom (his son’s grandmother) adopted the baby because the bio mom was only a young teen. The grandmother asked my fiance to remain out of the picture and let her and her husband raise the baby. He has no contact with them, has not heard from them in years, and pays no child support. He is completely willing to pay support and be in the child’s life if that’s what the grandmother and mother ever decide they want, but it has not happened yet. I am worried that when I marry him, they are entitled to my assets. I am in the last semester of my Ph.D., and will make significantly more money than him. We have decided that when we start a family, he will be a stay at home dad and my job will provide our only income. If his other family (son, bio mom, and grandmother) decided to ask for child support, will my income influence the payments? Will the payments be high because my fiance’s cost of living is so low due to me being the sole bread-winner? Can a pre-nup protect me from being at all financially responsible to this child?
I am only 25, and do not feel like I should have to support a child that is not mine anytime soon, and my fiance agrees. He says he will find a way to pay whatever the payments are and he wants to be in his son’s life if that’s what the other side wants, but I am worried the payments will be too high due to my income being a factor.
Evelyne
Comments
5 Responses to “Legal obligations to step child after marriage to my fiance?”
Lettie
THey make these things called LAWYERS dear.
Get one.
Genie
He just needs to go to court and tell themthe situation, probably need to get something in writing from the mother stating what you just told us. Then with documentation, they can’t do anything.
Lettie
In Arizona, you would not be obligated in any way. Only your husband’s income is considered in a child support case. Also, if he doesn’t work, there will be a minimum to be paid that he will be responsible for. It will be calculated from his most recent income. In reality, that may come out of your pocket but it has nothing to do with your income now or in the future. Alabama law may vary slightly but I doubt it is enough to worry about. I hope this helps.
PS: Other assets you may own like a car, home etc are also exempt from this and no prenup is necessary. However, keep accurate records of who provides what to your new family to prove what is yours. The child is only entitled to what the father could have provided if he was still in the other family, not what you could provide. Do you see?
Chiquita
If they actually adopted the child, then he gave up his parental rights and, subsequently, his parental responsibility. He owes no support.
If they’ve only taken custody of the child, he can rescind that custody at his choosing. He can pay support if he chooses, and any support that HE pays, is based upon agreement between him and the grandparents. It would take a court order for them to retain custody AND force support. It’s extremely rare that a court ever considers a non-parental spouse’s assets in determining support. (Not impossible, but nearly so.)
Huey
You may want a family law lawyer to review all the facts:’
When the grandmother adopted the child did your soon to be husband signed the adoption papers? If the case you soon to be has no legal right to the child in any way in any manner
If fiancé never signed away his rights in the adoption, then yes the grandmother can come after him in the future for child support
This is where it gets tricky; while in general you would not be legally liable the fact that your fiancé would be a stay at home parent does not mean the courts would take his income at zero, they are fully within their rights to impute an income level based upon many factors, plus they may find he recovers a certain benefit level from you which can be considered income when imputing his child support obligations ie a car credit cards etc
As such the court will impute an income level and set support amount, he will have to pay that amount or face jail time etc, so some one, if he choose to be and at home parent, in the household will have to come up with the monies for your fiancé will go to jail