Every Child's Right

Child Support From the Beginning

By Kelly Burgess

You may be a single mother expecting a child whose father has decided he may not want to be involved in your life or the child's life. Or maybe you're pregnant or already have children, and your marriage seems to be rocky. How do you lock in child support for the unborn baby? How quickly should you move to guarantee that your children get continued financial support from their father should he leave?

While the amount of child support you may receive and the collection methods vary by state, the first thing experts recommend is to act as soon as possible to avoid a gap in financial support that may not be recoverable.

Shelley Hayes, of North Carolina, did not see a lawyer about child support for her oldest child until he was 4 months old. She and the father had never been married. It was another six months before she got a court date. As is the custom with most courts, child support was ordered from the date of the filing, which meant not only that she went without support for almost a full year of her child's life, but also that the father was not liable for any of the medical bills related to the child's birth.

When she was pregnant with her second child, she had a very different experience. This time she was married to the father, but her marriage was in trouble. She decided to investigate her options early on.

"I hired a lawyer a month before the birth of my son, but the paperwork wasn't filed with the court system until he was 1 month old," says Hayes. "I received the first child support check on the day my son turned 7 months old."

While that check did not include the six months of prior child support her ex-husband had been ordered to pay or her legal fees, both expenses will eventually be paid, thanks to a court order.

Hayes' different experiences highlight what most experts say is the crucial factor in child support: getting legal advice as early as possible.

James J. Gross, managing partner at Thyden, Gross and Callahan in Chevy Chase, Md., and an expert in family law, suggests that getting a consultation as soon as possible is beneficial to both the child and the mother. "In Maryland, child support is only to be ordered by the court from the date the petition is filed, so if you wait too long your child isn't being supported by your spouse," says Gross. "In the case of a pregnant woman, she can file before the child is born and also get support for hospital bills."

Want to see more?

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• On Your Own: Becoming a Single Mom Through Choice
• Talk about it!