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Paternity test cost

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What is the name of your state? TX

I have a question on behalf on my sister and brother-in-law......they are at the beginning of a rather confusing OAG battle for child support. My brother-in-law is not 100% sure the child is his and when they go to court next month, he wants to request a paternity test....Here are my questions:

1. Does he have to pay for it, if he requests it?

2. If he does end up having to pay for it and the child is not his, does he get this money payed back to him?

3. Does anyone know the approximate amount of a paternity test in the State of Texas?

Thanks in advance for your replies! :)
 


ceara19

Senior Member
txrose1998 said:
What is the name of your state? TX

I have a question on behalf on my sister and brother-in-law......they are at the beginning of a rather confusing OAG battle for child support. My brother-in-law is not 100% sure the child is his and when they go to court next month, he wants to request a paternity test....Here are my questions:

1. Does he have to pay for it, if he requests it?

2. If he does end up having to pay for it and the child is not his, does he get this money payed back to him?

3. Does anyone know the approximate amount of a paternity test in the State of Texas?

Thanks in advance for your replies! :)

1. Usually the man only pays if he actually IS the father. If the man is the one that initiates the court action, in most cases he pays either way.

2. Child support is rarely, if EVER, ordered before paternity is established, so he should have to start paying until AFTER the test results are back. But he should start saving 25% of his take home pay NOW. That way if he IS the father, he will have the money to pay the "arrears" since cs will be retroactive to the day the case was filed. If some how he does pay before he knows and it turns out he's NOT dad, the oag will give back any money they have not yet sent to mom. He could sue mom in small claims court for the rest.

3. It's different in each county. Some counties charge as little as $50, while others charge up to $600. He can call the OAG to find out.
 
Thanks for the reply**************I do have one more question though......This case is a little complex so bear with me.....

This child that could possibly be my brother-in-law's son has been receiving support from my brother-in-law(his mom has been receiving it too) ever since he found out there was a possibility of this being his kid......will all that money he has forked over be considered a gift? What is he has found to be not the father, does he get it back?

Thanks again....
 

ceara19

Senior Member
txrose1998 said:
Thanks for the reply**************I do have one more question though......This case is a little complex so bear with me.....

This child that could possibly be my brother-in-law's son has been receiving support from my brother-in-law(his mom has been receiving it too) ever since he found out there was a possibility of this being his kid......will all that money he has forked over be considered a gift? What is he has found to be not the father, does he get it back?

Thanks again....
Everything paid absent and/or outside a court order, is considered a gift as far as family court is concerned. He could still try and recover the money in small claims court, since it was actually a "conditional gift".
 

MrsK

Senior Member
txrose1998 said:
Thanks for the reply**************I do have one more question though......This case is a little complex so bear with me.....

This child that could possibly be my brother-in-law's son has been receiving support from my brother-in-law(his mom has been receiving it too) ever since he found out there was a possibility of this being his kid......will all that money he has forked over be considered a gift? What is he has found to be not the father, does he get it back?

Thanks again....
If he is not the father, no he will not get it back. If he is the father, it will very very likely be considered a gift. Perhaps your sister can forgive part of the "arrears" in the amount of what he has paid (that would be fair of her, anyway) but its unlikely that the court would take what he has already paid into consideration.
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
txrose1998 said:
What is the name of your state? TX

I have a question on behalf on my sister and brother-in-law......they are at the beginning of a rather confusing OAG battle for child support. My brother-in-law is not 100% sure the child is his and when they go to court next month, he wants to request a paternity test....Here are my questions:

1. Does he have to pay for it, if he requests it?

2. If he does end up having to pay for it and the child is not his, does he get this money payed back to him?

3. Does anyone know the approximate amount of a paternity test in the State of Texas?

Thanks in advance for your replies! :)
And yet if he is married to your sister then he is legally the father.
 

ceara19

Senior Member
Ohiogal said:
And yet if he is married to your sister then he is legally the father.
That's a good point. I was assuming that the child was from a different relationship then the marriage because the way the word POSSIBLITY was being used. (possibility that the child IS his as opposed to a possibility the the child IS NOT his).
 

Ohiogal

Queen Bee
ceara19 said:
That's a good point. I was assuming that the child was from a different relationship then the marriage because the way the word POSSIBLITY was being used. (possibility that the child IS his as opposed to a possibility the the child IS NOT his).
The way i read this is that the two of them were married, had a kid and now that they are seperating b-i-l wants to gripe that child is not his because of a dozen other things that could have happened. If the baby was born within the marriage though..... He is the daddy. OP needs to clarify some things. Like if the two were married when the kid was born.
 
ceara19 said:
1. Usually the man only pays if he actually IS the father. If the man is the one that initiates the court action, in most cases he pays either way.

2. Child support is rarely, if EVER, ordered before paternity is established, so he should have to start paying until AFTER the test results are back. But he should start saving 25% of his take home pay NOW. That way if he IS the father, he will have the money to pay the "arrears" since cs will be retroactive to the day the case was filed. If some how he does pay before he knows and it turns out he's NOT dad, the oag will give back any money they have not yet sent to mom. He could sue mom in small claims court for the rest.

3. It's different in each county. Some counties charge as little as $50, while others charge up to $600. He can call the OAG to find out.
In Texas, CS for one kid is 20% of your take home not 25.
 

ceara19

Senior Member
jslopez711 said:
In Texas, CS for one kid is 20% of your take home not 25.
But if he only puts back 20%, he is very likely to come up short once he gets to court. More then likely, not only will he have to pay child support from the date of filing, but also at least 50% of medical from the same date. ;)
 
ceara19 said:
But if he only puts back 20%, he is very likely to come up short once he gets to court. More then likely, not only will he have to pay child support from the date of filing, but also at least 50% of medical from the same date. ;)
He'll owe from when the child is born. Arears are always negotiable anyway. And you are correct that more than likely they are going to slap him with his 1/2 of the medical bills.
 

ceara19

Senior Member
jslopez711 said:
He'll owe from when the child is born. Arears are always negotiable anyway. And you are correct that more than likely they are going to slap him with his 1/2 of the medical bills.
While the state CAN go back to the birth of the child (no more than 5 years though), it rarely ever happens unless the petition was filed shortly after the birth. And unless MOM is willing to negotiate, the arrears can't be altered by the court.
 

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