A man in Houston has been battling in court for the last 13 years because he has been ordered to pay child support for a child that is not his. Willie Carson has DNA proof that shows that it is not his biological child, nor has he ever supported the child in any way, yet he has been paying child support for over a decade.

 Unusual Child Support Case

Mr. Carson's case is very unique in that the DNA test results show that the child in question has a 0.00% chance of being biologically related to him. “I've never seen the child. I never spoke to the child. I don't know what the child looks like.” However, he has been forced to pay thousands of dollars in child support for the child because the mother named Mr. Carson as her baby's father on the birth certificate.

As a result, Mr. Carson's wages have been garnished for over a decade and he is currently more than $21,000 behind in child support payments. He has been battling the court system for years trying to get relief from these payments. Thankfully, the child's mother has sent a letter to the family court saying that he is not the child's father and that he should not have to pay. However, that is not enough and Mr. Carson must get an official order from the court before he can legally stop making payments.

 Resolution of the Problem

Because of the efforts of the child's mother, Mr. Carson recently found out that his 401(k) assets have been unfrozen and that he should expect to hear a favorable result when he goes to court next week. “I'm hoping for it but the judge has the last say so . . . I learned a lot of valuable lessons in all of this” smiles Mr. Carson. “I never gave up. There is light at the end of the tunnel”.

Child Support Issues in Texas

Mr. Carson's child support problem has not been the first time that the Texas family courts have dealt with an issue of a father paying child support for a child that is not his. In fact, the issue arises so often that the Texas Attorney General’s Office has an entire section in their “Frequently Asked Questions” dedicated to the problem.

According to the website, the Attorney General states that even if the court does resolve the issue and terminates the need to pay child support, the named father is still responsible for any child support payments that are in arrears. This means that Mr. Carson may still be liable for the $21,000 that he owes in unpaid support despite the child not being his.

Call a Texas Family Law Attorney

If you or someone that you know is facing child support problems in Houston or Galveston, let the experienced attorneys at The Law Office of Lori E. Laird, PLLC help. Call the office or contact us today for a free and confidential review of your case.