questions & answers

Question: my son was 18 and his girf 17yoa when she got pregnant..it was consentual and both parents talked about the situation. my son has been supporting the baby but has no legal custody. exgirf and father have been harassing my son about giving exgirf money as child support and my son told him no and exgirfs father told son that he is pressing charges on him because daugh was 17 and he was 18 when she got pregnant. he has proof of support of child with receipts. what can he do?

Answer: The following is provided for general information only. For information regarding child support, read the article “Child support in Arizona (http://www.azlawhelp.org/articles_info.cfm?mc=1&sc=2&articleid=53).” For information regarding child custody, read the article “Things you should know about custody and parenting time (http://www.azlawhelp.org/articles_info.cfm?mc=1&sc=1&articleid=68).” In a proceeding for child support, the court may order either or both parents owing a duty of support to a child, born to or adopted by the parents, to pay an amount reasonable and necessary for support of the child. If the parties lived apart before the date of the filing for child support and if child support has not been ordered by a child support order, the court may order child support retroactively to the date of separation, but not more than three years before the date of the filing for dissolution of marriage, legal separation, maintenance or child support. The court will follow guidelines established by the Arizona Supreme Court for determining the amount of child support. A.R.S. 25-320 (http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/25/00320.htm&Title=25&DocType=ARS) provides information regarding child support; factors; methods of payment; additional enforcement provisions; definitions. Depending on where a person lives in Arizona, there are various services available to assist individuals who cannot afford an attorney. Visit the family and children section (http://www.azlawhelp.org/subtopic.cfm?mc=1) of this site and select the relevant county from the “FIND FREE LEGAL HELP” drop down menu to view a list of available services in that county. An alphabetical list of legal service providers can also be viewed through the legal assistance (http://www.azlawhelp.org/legalaidlisting.cfm) portion of this website. In addition, you can review the article on this site titled, “Where to Find an Attorney for Specific Legal Advice (http://www.azlawhelp.org/articles_info.cfm?mc=5&sc=35&articleid=129)." Some of the family courts (http://http://www.azleg.gov/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/25/00320.htm&Title=25&DocType=ARS) provide self service centers or lists of attorneys who can assist a person with completing forms.