Yes they can. If they couldn't than any guy who just ignores the paperwork for child support would get away with not paying. He needs to get into court and order a DNA test to check for paternity if he thinks there's any reason the child might not be his. They will also garnish his tax return if he's due to get one. I'd pay up ASAP because they charge interest when your that far behind and also can take away his drivers licence and put him in jail. If he's not the father they will stop garnishing his checks so the sooner you find out the better.

They can and they will unless and until he proves that this is not his child.

Is this his child? If so, he needs to pay regardless.

I have known many people who have fathered children and denied paternity. I always tell them to "pay now or pay even more later".

I have a family member whop refused to pay his support for over 7 years. His ex had gone on welfare in another state. Well, that state caught up with my family member and he had to pay back every last penny in welfare benefits, medical expenses, etc. it was well over 50 grand. He had to take out another mortgage on a house that he owned outright and will be paying on that bill for many years to come.

So, just remember. He'll pay now or pay later if he refuses to pay and the child is his. That's just a fact of life. Unless the child is not his and he can prove it he must pay. If it his his child then he shouldn't even question it. You have to pay to play every time.

I don't mean to come off as cocky or anything. I'm just being honest and blunt.

Good luck in whatever happens.

Yes a custodial parent can file for child support against the father at anytime prior to the child 18th birthday. The law states a custodial parent can file and get child support, the burden of proof is upon the father to prove that he is or is not the father, once a custodial parent files for child support then by law the father can request a DNA test, and if he were to do this and then it came out that he was not the father he could file a petition with the court to ask the court to stop the child support order. If he is the father he will have to pay child support until the child is 19 years old, the age for child support in colorado was lowered from the age of 21 to the age of 19, there are still orders that state child support will continue until 21 years of age and are enforceable unless review and adjustment is completed. Statue of limitations to establish paternity is 18 years . There is no statue of limitation on enforcing child support. If the father takes the DNA test and is not the father he can file to stop the child support order but he cannot have any back erarages dismissed by the court, however the mother could have any back erarages dismissed by contacting the child support agency, as long as the motherr has never recieved any state benefits (welfare). If the child support agency is garnishing your husband's wages then they are the one's that would have to stop that garnishment, if your husband owes back child support of $6.500 he will have to pay those back erarages. My sujestion is for your husband to take a DNA test the longer he waits the longer the back erarages will occur. Also if he is the father and he proves partenty he can file for joint custody and or for visitations. Your husband should contact a lawyer there are many that offer free consutation have him call a few and find out what he should do, your husband does not need a lawyer to file for his rights, he does need to contact the human resource department to set up a time for the DNA test. I would not sujest that he call just any agency for a DNA test because the court does not except all DNA test, he should caall the court to find out if your state court has a DNA Agency that they use for the test before he looks in the yelloe pages, his best bet is the human resourse department, and in some states he can have the fee wavier.

They sure can garnish his pay. It's scary that the system works this way but it does. The courts try to establish paternity prior to awarding child support however in cases where they can't locate the father or the father doesn't respond to a summons, the court will determine by default that he is the father and will award support. I can see both sides of the coin here however it can be shocking for a man to learn in one day that he is years behind in child support and all the effects that go with it. I don't know what your husbands situation was but I know a woman that was pregnant by her then boyfriend, she broke up with him and didn't tell him that she was pregnant. She decided at the time that she know he was not Mr. Right and wanted to raise this baby alone. Four years later she lost her income and filed for child support against the ex. He was FLOORED, he never knew she was pregnant to begin with much less that he was a tather. How it went down legally as he was told by the court he "should have known the possibility of pregnancy while engaging in an intimate relationship and therefore is financially responsible". These kinds of situations aren't as rare as one might think. Had this man known of the preganancy from the beginning he would have had the opportunity to pay his child support from that moment on. Instead he was bombarded with garnished wages amongst the shock of fatherhood.
I guess what I'm getting at is that the sooner your husband can get paternity established, the sooner he can see what his options are, if any. This can't be easy on you either, you're the inocent bystander meanwhile your financial sitiation do to this takes a huge hit.
Hope all works out for you.