questions & answers

Question: My daughter is almost 5y/o my daughter's father has never been in her life or provided for her financially or emotinally. Time to time he acts like he wants to be part of her life but NEVER takes any initiative to actually build a relationship with her. He also isn't on her birth certificate and he currently leaves in California. What do be my first step on filling for child support? I don't want him to have any legal rights to her or for him to take her out of state and is why I've never filed for child support plus he's always threatened to fight me for full custody.

Answer: Because your child's father is not on her birth certificate, the first step in the process is to legally establish paternity by filing a paternity action pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes, Section 25-803.    A judge cannot order child support unless paternity is legally established.  The forms for a paternity action can be found on the court's website in the self-help center.  Go to: http://www.azcourts.gov/ .  You can file the action on your own using the court's forms and instructions.  You will need to serve papers on the father in California where he lives.  You might benefit from at least talking with a lawyer before you begin.  There are 3 programs in Arizona that you can use to get some inexpensive legal advice and guidance.  One is the Modest Means Program.  For a $75.00 fee, the Modest Means Program will arrange a one hour consult with an experienced attorney.  The telephone number is (866) 637-5341. Both the Maricopa County Bar Association and the Pima County Bar Association have lawyer referral services that offer a 30 minute consult with an experienced attorney.  Maricopa County's Lawyer Referral Service offers a 30 minute consultation for a fee of $40.00. The telephone number is (602) 257-4434.  Pima County's Lawyer Referral Service offers a 30 minute consultation for a fee of $35.00.  The telephone number is (520) 623-4625.