A man from Texas is currently fighting a court ruling that mandates he pay $65,000 in child support to an ex-girlfriend's daughter, despite proving he is not her biological father.
WABC-TV reports, according to a Texas' family code, even if a man can prove he is not the biological father of a child, he is still responsible for all child support payments before the paternity test can prove otherwise. In 2003, Gabriel Cornejo's ex-girlfriend went to court to request child support after giving birth to a child that she claimed could only have been his.
Last year, a deputy showed up at Cornejo's door, giving him court papers from the state of Texas that claimed he may have another child. After hearing the news, Cornejo ventured out to meet the child in question, a 16-year-old girl who he described as "a wonderful girl."
After meeting the child, Cornejo took a paternity test that revealed that he was, in fact, not the biological father of the teen. Despite finding the truth and proving his innocence, he may still have to pay the hefty child support.
According to the courts, the state of Texas called the case a "default judgment" and started enacting child support payments in 2003 (which is why the bill is so high).
Cornejo disputes the amount, claiming he never received notification about the payments, but Carel Stith, the ex-girlfriend's lawyer, is making a very serious case.
Stith argues that child support payments have been taken from Cornejo's paycheck a while back and were never disputed, which may be enough evidence to prove that the costs are now his responsibility in the eyes of the court.
Now Cornejo and his lawyer, Cheryl Coleman, are tasked with convincing a judge to take another look at his case, otherwise the amount owed still stands. It seems that they will try to prove that Cornejo had no idea about the payments because if the mandate remains he will either have to write a $65,000 check or face jail time.
The case will return to court in August and hopefully, Cornejo can beat the ridiculous law and more importantly give the state of Texas enough reason to change it.
The Texas case follows a similar Oklahoma case in which a man was forced to pay child support for a child that was not his.
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