Currently the OFFICIAL CODE OF GEORGIA, could allow a mother to commit paternity fraud and child support fraud against an alleged father, walk away with the money and pursue child support against the real biological father. A legally sanctioned double-dip $$!!

If a mother commits similar fraud against public (social security, medicaid, welfare, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families -TANF) and private agencies, the OFFICIAL CODE OF GEORGIA provides for restitution and punishment up to and including criminal charges.

We should not have a protected class of legalized extortion against Georgia citizens. The Georgia Court of Appeals appears to agree in SMITH v. DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, A97A0257., May 16, 1997, Decided, "While it is the policy of this state to require fathers to support their minor children, it is not the policy to extort such support from persons who are not in fact the fathers."

Major points to consider:

• Could a child’s life could be at risk for medical needs, when alleged father does not match genetics in an emergency room? There just might not be enough time!

• In 2000, OH passed a law to relieve paternity fraud victims from child support and arrears when genetic tests proved non-paternity. In 2000, MD Supreme Court upheld similar ruling to relieve paternity fraud victims. Cases exist for other states in AL, FL, IN, WI, AK, TN, NV, CT, VA, KY and others.

• Don’t forget that the mother always knows about her other intimate relations and then always makes a conscious decision to suppress that information from the alleged father.

SOLUTION:

There should also be a system to encourage and enforce restitution where there has been fraud or error in divorces and child support cases which occurred before mandatory DNA paternity testing.

There should be restitution in past divorce and child support cases where child support was paid and where later evidence proves that the husband or alleged father was not the biological father.

The amount of the restitution should be the entire amount paid for the child or children in question, plus interest. The amount should be calculated by setting up a schedule where each child support payment should be treated as if it were a deposit into a savings account at compound interest.

1. If the mother offers restitution without being asked, the interest rate used should be six percent and the compounding rate should be monthly. Criminal proceedings against the mother for fraud would be disallowed.
2. If the alleged father requests restitution and the mother agrees without argument, the interest rate used should be eight percent and the compounding rate should be monthly. Criminal proceedings against the mother for fraud would be disallowed.
3. If the alleged father requests restitution and the mother refuses the request, and DNA paternity testing proves the father's allegation of non-paternity, the interest rate should be ten percent, and the compounding should be semi-monthly or weekly (depending on the payment frequency in the original child support order). In this instance, the mother should pay for the paternity test and court costs. Criminal proceedings by a District Attorney against the mother for fraud would be permitted.
4. The amount (principal and interest) should be paid in a lump sum.

Modifying the state laws as outlined above will go a long way toward correcting both future and past child support abuses.