Paternity

questions & answers

Question: My husband has a child from a previous relationship. We aren't positive that the child is actually his. He is a resident of Arizona, the mother lives in Washington state along with the child. My question is this, which state , Arizona or Washington, would have jurisdiction to decide Child Support payments and establishing paternity?

Answer: Generally, under Arizona law, the WA mother could file a paternity petition here in AZ, even though neither she nor the child ever lived here. (A.R.S. § 25-802) Whether she can do the same in WA, and follow that up with a support demand in WA, are questions that only a licensed WA attorney can ethically answer. It would also help if you explained a little more about what types of contacts your husband had with WA before he met and married you. The Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (UIFSA) has all sorts of rules about when a potential respondent (such as your husband) has submitted to the personal jurisdiction of another state. By example only, you can get a general idea of AZ's version of those rules (see A.R.S. § 25-1221) But you must remember that the out of state parent with the child would use that state's version of UIFSA - not Arizona's. 

QUESTIONS

  • My husband has a child from a previous relationship. We aren't positive that the child is actually his. He is a resident of Arizona, the mother lives in Washington state along with the child. My question is this, which state , Arizona or Washington, would have jurisdiction to decide Child Support payments and establishing paternity?

STORIES

LegalLEARN

FIND LEGAL HELP

  • Please select your county of residence below.

    County:
     

OTHER LEGAL RESOURCES

  • State Bar of Arizona
    www.azbar.org
  • Maricopa County Bar
    www.maricopabar.org
    Referral number 602-257-4434
  • Pima County Bar
    www.pimacountybar.org
    Referral number 520-623-4625
  • National Domestic Violence Hotline
    800-799-7233
  • Bankruptcy Court Self Help Center
    866-553-0893
  • Certified Legal Document Preparer Program
    Link

ORGANIZATIONS

Generic versions of the drug Cialis, sold as tadalafil, now available from many manufacturers.