Get your rights on!
I skipped the marriage thing when I had my first lil’ bundle of joy. I was 19, scared, alone, and relying on my Mom way more than I’ll ever admit to. My family told me every chance they could that I needed to get custody put in place and get a child support order entered.
I blew off this piece of advice like the know-it-all 19-year-old I was. What a dumb kid I was.
When you have a baby with someone, and you are not in a serious committed relationship, you need to make sure you get some protection.
There are two things you need to know and understand before you blow off my advice like 19-year-old me would do.
First: You Have No Enforceable Parenting Time Without A Court Order
I don’t care if you are Mom or Dad. If the other parent’s name is on Baby’s birth certificate, they can take that kiddo and refuse to give Baby back. There ain’t nothing you can do about it. Without an enforceable Parenting Plan, police officers can refuse to help you bring Baby home. If both parents agree to changes in the parenting time, those changes need to be submitted to the Court and turned into an order. Courts have self-help websites that provide the forms and limited instructions on how to use them to modify parenting time.
Second: Child Support Can Only Be Ordered By The Courts
If you and the other parent agree to a child support amount, that’s awesome. You cannot enforce it unless a Court has ordered it. If you are the paying parent, you better pay in a way that can be tracked – like checks. If you are the receiving parent, keep a log of the payments you receive. Any changes to child support that both parent agree to needs to be presented to the Court to be entered as an order of the Court.
Do you need help getting your child support entered as an order of the Court?
Call the attorneys at Alexander & Associates Today!
