Zambales wrote:
Seriously?
This doesn't happen in the UK. Only the biological father is responsible.
Unfortunately, this is not true and it is not that easy, as co-habitation is considered after a relatively short time legally almost same as marriage, and it is irrelevant who is the biological father - after separation (or divorce of a marriage) one person gets the children (usually the woman) and the other one pays...(usually the man) and there is also shared responsibility possible, the biological father pays and also the 'father' who was with the children.
The mother can claim child support from more than one 'father', often in case when the mother has children from more than one father - not so rare as you might think and also possible in UK/EU.
Generally, it's about the following rules in Western countries:
A man is presumed to be the father of the child:
1 -
He was married to the mother when the child was either born or conceived.
(Even in case the woman was cheating on him, and he is not the biological father, so-called paternity discrepancy - which I call 'paternity fraud')
2 -
He attempted to marry the mother when the child was either born or conceived.
(Engagement counts!)
3 -
He married the mother after the birth of the child and agreed to have his name put on the birth certificate OR agreed to support the child.
(Please note: OR agreed to support = even his name is NOT in the birth certificate!) Co-habitation counts!
4 -
He welcomed the child into his home after birth and openly holds the child out as his own.
(Please note - welcome into HIS home, not into HER home and in case of separation/divorce the man might be kicked out of HIS house!)
Laws are a bit different from country to country, but basically about the same. Where is feminism, there is always a way for a woman to claim money from a man, especially in case if she has children, and even if he is not the biological father.
Child support will only be ordered where the person is found to be a "parent",
A "parent" includes
(a) a guardian or guardian of the person of a child, or
(b) a stepparent of a child if
(i) the stepparent contributed to the support and maintenance of the child for at least one year
A person is the stepparent of a child if the person and a parent of the child
(a) are or were married, or
(b) lived together in a marriage-like relationship for a period of at least 2 years
-------
Most Western countries follow these rules, a short summery when the man has to pay:
The step-parent was either in a marriage-like (common law) relationship with the child's parent for at least two years OR married to the child's parent for any length of time
AND contributed to the child's support or maintenance for at least one year;
AND contributed to the child's maintenance or support within one year of the date that the child support claim was filed with the court.
At least 2 years co-habitation - however this is not the same everywhere, in some countries only 6 months are already enough to claim child support from a stepfather....
Just too risky, never register your and her address at the same place!
In Japan as I mentioned with my previous comment, nothing to worry about. Co-habitation is not accepted by law, only marriage counts - even if you live in the same rooms together with a women and her children over many years.
No problem in Japan if you date a single mother.