Most parents who have been ordered to pay child support do so, because the amount they are supposed to pay is fair and they want to provide financially for their kids. However, some noncustodial parents are unable to afford the payments, or dispute paternity.
People in this situation may have legal recourse, but some parents go to extreme lengths to avoid living up to their obligations to their children. In one case, a man outside of New York claims to have “died” in a 2009 car accident.
The man, who has been charged with five counts of felony failure to pay child support, told reporters not long ago that he was “ineligible” to make the payments because “I was in a hospital and died in a car accident.”
Just how the “deceased” was able to conduct an interview with the living is not clear. Some time later, the man, with the help of a family law attorney, amended his defense to state that he survived the car crash, but was disabled.
The strangeness of his prior claim to be dead gave the man some Internet notoriety. Seeking to capitalize, the man, who is father to three children, is apparently trying to launch a career as a hip-hop artist or mogul. His efforts have drawn criticism from stars such as Diddy and Tyrese.
His current financial situation is not mentioned in an article about his case, but he bought a car in 2010. To obtain the loan, he had to pay $100 in child support to get around laws preventing the issuing of credit to those who owe payments.
There are procedures in place for establishing paternity, creating a child support obligation and adjusting the amount owed later. Trying to get around these procedures will usually lead to trouble.
