questions & answers

Question: If the father in not on the birth certificate what steps need to be taken to option child support? Since the child is now 8 years old will the father have to pay back for those 8 years? Do they still owe child support if they are not employed or in jail?

Answer: The first step would be for you to file a paternity action in Superior Court in the county where you live.  You will need to serve those papers on the father.  A paternity action will not be required if the father is willing to sign an affidavit of paternity.  Once you have established under the law that he is the father, you will need to file a petition for child support in family court.  Will the family court make him pay 8 years of back support?  That may depend on the circumstances of your case, but generally the answer is no.  Even if unemployed, the court will impute an income based on his education, skills and work experience.  All the forms you need to file a paternity action and an action for child support are on the court's website.  It also has instructions for how to serve the papers.  Go to: https://www.azcourts.gov/selfservicecenter/Family-Law-Forms.