leo@cca.UUCP (Louise Osterman) (09/11/85)
While I do not know what other states have put into law for unwed mothers, Mass. statutes are such that child-support cases brought by unwed mothers against the fathers are heard in District Court as opposed to Probate Court, where married, separated or divorced parents cases' are heard. Child support awarded in District Court is levied as a fine which cannot be altered; child support awarded in Probate Court is subject to review and increase or decrease. Unwed mothers going to court without an attorney should be aware of this when determining the amount of support they are requesting. I am not aware what the statutes say about unwed fathers bringing cases against the mothers, but the Probate Court did hear one case that I know of. To date, though, the mother has not gone to court requesting a change in the support order, so I do not know how the court will respond to such a request. It will probably depend a lot on the judge hearing the case. Another thing to be aware of, cases that are heard in Probate are first referred to Family Services where (not necessarily degreed) social workers try to work things out, first between the attorneys, then between the parents. If a social worker is not readily available, the parties get to sit around waiting while the legal-fees clock ticks away. It seems asinine since people generally go to court because they couldn't work things out between themselves or their lawyers. At any rate, it happens. The case that I am aware of returned to court four weeks following the initial court date to review the visitation schedule. When the two parties could not agree on a schedule, and each had a rational argument for their proposed schedule, they settled by tossing a coin - figuring their chances before a judge were no different than the toss of a coin. Tossing the coin saved four hours of legal fees for the two parties, and everyone had a good laugh about "justice." One last note, even if you cannot afford an attorney to go to court, it is advisable to consult with one before you go to understand what you can and cannot do/expect. If you can afford one, my advice is to find one who is committed to women's issues in general. Knowing the particulars of the case of above, the attorney for the mother was far more supportive and genuinely concerned with the outcome of the mother's case than was the father's attorney for him. Additionally, the mother's legal fees were 60% less (an hour) than the father's.