Hi, I have just had a paternity test and proven to be the father. I have a few questions as to what to expect. I got the papers saying I was the father less than 2 weeks ago and i've got an appointment to meet with the mother next Wed. My questions are,

1. Will I have to pay back child support from when I found out the baby is mine, When I sign the papers and it becomes a court order, or from the time she filed with child recovery?

2. I received papers saying how much I would probably have to pay (using the 40 hr week @ my rate at my last job) which was $97 I think. Now, at my current job, i've barely made it..working 3 days a week, because of the economy effecting the trade i'm in. I have talked with child enforcement and they wanted me to bring my w-2 from this past year @ this job, and any unemployment i've had to file, which i've received partial unemployment...and they said they have the ablilty to alter the amount due to economic hardship. Luckily though, i've been working for the past 3 weeks 5 days a week.which is a HUGE change from the past 5 months..but word is that that it is about to change back to 3 days again..which worries me a little...if im making it, i could careless about paying 97...she definitely deserves it...sorry, im rambling, my question is...which are they going to go by since my work is up and down...will they probably go by last years w-2?

3. How do they do the insurance? My papers say she is responsible for half if I can get insurance @ a reasonable amount. I think insurance for the child is 60 a week...does that mean that my total amount of child support will be about 130 a week? I guess i'm wanting to know for sure she'll pay half and my child support won't be 160 a week...i mean, when u bring home 330 (at a full week) after taxes a week...thats about half u know?

And to all the haters, no i'm not trying to get out of anything, i'm just trying to understand and go in with my eyes open, no surprises. Thanks for all of your help.

Magic 8 ball says, we have no way of knowing what an unknown judge in an unknown court will decide about any of these things.

One question you had that is simpler to answer is about the W-2. If you bring your W-2 or tax records from last year, they should take the total amount you made for the year and average it out as to what that equals per week.......... In other words, some days you had 5 days a week, some you had three...... they should get the average for the year from your last years tax information & not base it on either the 5-day week OR the 3-day week. It will be somewhere in between.

I am not familiar with how Georgia calculates insurance amount when one parent is responsible for half........

In NC and many other states, they have a worksheet that calculates the total "child care burden" for the child, which includes the health insurance cost. Then they calculate the percentage of that which each parent is responsible for.......... it's calculated into the child support amount to basically give you credit for what you pay in insurance and to deduct her portion from what you owe, if that makes sense to you. I don't know if Georgia's plan is similar or not.......

If no one else here knows (and if you don't have an attorney), your best bet is to ask the Child Support Enforcement office to explain how it works to you... or go to the states CSE web site, and you may find the information there if you read enough.

I can't answer number one at all................. but, perhaps with my bumping up your post, someone with more knowledge will see and give you some kind of answer or guidance on that one.

God bless,
Amy