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I have got a child from previous relationship, she is 6 years old now and me and her mum split up when she was still pregnant ( we have never been married), My daughter doesn't know I am her father, she is being raised my my ex and her partner who she calls DAD
I have been paying maintenance money ever since my ex was pregnant and this is what we agreed between ourselves
Recently I have found out that my name is not bearing on her birth certificate instead there is a "father unknown", which means I have no PR and also I have never ever been included in any decisions in regards my daughter life. I know I can apply for PR but don't want to destroy my girls childhood and I am stranger for her
I just want to know if in this case is it legal that my ex claims support money from me if I I got no PR and I'm "father unknown"
Please help
Hi
Yes, as you are the father, you are liable for maintenance - it is not dependant on PR or contact. If you are paying more than the CSA calculation (basically, 15% of takehome - less if you have other children) then you could reduce your payment to this and there isn't a great deal your ex could do about it
Hi Marcel
Thank you for your post, I am William the Child Maintenance Options. If you are a child's father you have a legal responsibility to financially support your daughter. In the eyes of the law, it does not matter that you are not on the birth certificate. It can be a difficult situation but you should try to sort things out amicably with her mother, which you have mentioned you have already done. If you refuse, your daughter's mother has the option of getting the Statutory Scheme or the courts involved. This could be avoided if you sort things out with her direct. For further information on the above, you may wish to speak to the Statutory Scheme directly. Alternatively, you can visit their website at http://www.gov.uk/childmaintenance.
We have a Sorting out Separation web-app that you may find useful. It offers help and support to separating and separated families. The link is: www.dad.info/divorce-and-separation/sorting-out-separation.
If you would a confidential chat with Child Maintenance Options team or find out more about all the options available for child maintenance, you can call us free on 0800 988 0988 between 8am and 8pm Monday to Friday or 9am and 4pm on Saturday, alternatively you can visit our website at http://www.cmoptions.org.
William
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