March 18, 2009 - The Missouri Senate Considers SB141

UPDATE - URGENT - NEW SCHEDULE HAS SB141 ON THE MISSOURI SENATE DOCKET FOR MONDAY, MARCH 23.

WATCH FOR OUR TWITTER UPDATES AND EMAIL, CALL, OR FAX YOUR MISSOURI STATE SENATOR RIGHT NOW AND TELL THEM TO SUPPORT AND VOTE FOR SB141.

On March 12, 2009 the Paternity reform bill (SB141) was placed on the Missouri Senate Calendar under the heading “SENATE BILLS FOR PERFECTION”. for March 18th, 2009.

What this means is the Missouri Senate will Debate and Vote on whether the State of Missouri will reform antiquated Paternity Laws and correct the injustices caused by the current state of law in Missouri.

THIS IS THE TIME TO ACT!  YOU NEED TO WRITE, EMAIL, FAX, AND CALL YOUR MISSOURI STATE SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES NOW!

We know you’ve been doing your part so far.  We’ve heard from many of you, other have posted comments here.  And we’ve also been talking with State Senators and Representatives ourselves.  Paternity Reform in Missouri can happen and it can happen now.  But we all have to do our part and let our legislators know that you support SB141!

In the LINKS section on the right are contact lists for your Missouri State Senators and Representatives.  We’re also using Twitter to broadcast this information as well.  You can follow us on Twitter.  Our ID on Twitter is MakeTheRealDadP

The Kansas City Star Covers Kansas, but not Missouri Paternity Reform

The Kansas City Star covered the effort in the Kansas Legislature to rid their state of paternity fraud.  But searching their website fails to see where they’re covering the effort in Missouri.

Fortunantly, one of our members posted comments on the stories!  Thank You!

The stories are:

‘Presumed father’ issue

Kansas bill aims to fix ‘presumed father’ quandary

Mo Senator Jeff Smith submits SB141 in Missouri

Third Try at Bat for Paternity Fraud Victims in Missouri

On December 22, 2008 Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith (D 4th District) introduced SB141 for the 2009 Legislative Session of the Missouri Senate.

SB141 is essentially the same as HB 2322 (2008) and the MakeTheRealDadPay.org model legislation for Missouri.  The official summary (from the Missouri State Senate Website) states:

“SB 141 - This act provides that a petitioner may at any time file a petition to challenge entry of a judgment of paternity and child support upon filing an affidavit stating that evidence exists which was not considered before entry of judgment. Such petition shall also include either an allegation that genetic testing was conducted within the past 90 days using DNA methodology, was performed by an expert, and that the test results indicate a 99% or greater probability that the petitioner is not the child’s father or a request to the court for an order of genetic paternity testing using DNA methodology.

The court shall grant relief and enter judgment setting aside the previous judgment of paternity and child support, including a previous acknowledgment of paternity, extinguish any existing child support arrearage, and order the Department of Health and Senior Services to modify the child’s birth certificate accordingly upon a finding that the genetic test was properly conducted, accurate, and indicates a 99% or greater probability that the petitioner is not the child’s father. The provisions of this act shall not apply to grant relief to the parent of any adopted child.”

This isn’t perfect legislation..  But it’s very good and passable legislation that will free the victims of Paternity Fraud in Missouri.  MakeTheRealDadPay.org is wholeheartedly in favor of SB141 and you should be too.

Missouri Child Support Fraud Continues

Child Support Fraud in Missouri continues… Here is a story that describes the type of fraud we’re talking about. Two years and still nothing from the Missouri Legislature.

It’s time to educate yourself, and write/call/fax your Missouri State Senators and Representatives (lists in Links to the right) and make them Make the Real Dad Pay!

Missouri is no Better than Michigan

Missouri is no Better than Michigan when it comes to child support fraud.

Children are the Victims of Paternity Fraud

There is no doubt that paternity fraud is harming our families and children. Consider this…A Woman’s Day poll shows that 50%+ of the respondents would willingly lie about paternity in order to secure child support. Women who named potential fathers either lied or had no idea when after DNA Testing over 30% of these men were found to not be the father of the child. But the State has decided that they want the victims of paternity fraud to have no recourse. That if you, your husband, your son, your father is named as “the dad” then they will pay… forever. And the damage this does to marriages, families, the health of the victim and his family and on the misnamed children as well is both very real and totally unnecessary.

And it looks like your all alone with nowhere to go. Pleading to Legislatures to put truth and justice into the system falls on deaf ears. States collect Federal funds based on their child support enforcement collections. As long as they can name anyone and make them pay the State Government gets the benefit of Federal money. There arn’t support groups, financial assistance, counseling, or any other help available to the families who are paying for children they had no part in bringing in to this world. “But what about these children?” is a common rebuke we hear. Well, what about them? The lack of a true family medical history is endangering these children because their mother has decided to lie about who their father really is. They are emotionally damaged due to the lie their mother constructed for them to live. This cannot be fixed by simply stealing money for them. Only the real truth, honestly faced can.

This fraud only benefits a mother who doesn’t know which man is the real dad, and/or chooses to lie about it. This is not in the best interest of our children. Many States consider their forcing non-biological “fathers” to pay is part of mandating parental relationships with the children. Most of the cases we’ve seen the mothers are preventing contact, have moved away, or they have never had contact with the children. In some cases this may be the man’s choice. However there are hundreds of thousands of cases where all these mothers really want is the money. They do not believe that having a father in their child’s life is important and even if they do they are ignoring the real father of the child. Once the children know that the man they have known as “dad” is not their father this does damage to these kids that will never heal. Where they really come from and who is the real dad are questions that stress them out even further. All because their mother either doesn’t know who fathered her children or has chosen to lie about it.

Then, looking at the biological children of the falsley accused man….They have to bear the result of their real father beset with financial burdons, physical and mental stress, and likely depression. These children will suffer emotionally, physically, and financially their entire lives. Many times these children are in an environment filled with stress, hardship, and marital difficulty caused solely by paternity fraud. These hardships should not have to be endured by them. They see that by lying and committing fraud they can benefit. What kind of message are we sending to these kids? Allowing paternity fraud is definitely not in their best interest.

We need to end this injustice to our children. We need to make a positive example in Missouri and show every other State that paternity fraud will not be tolerated here. The time to end paternity fraud in Missouri is now. Our children cannot afford less.

Without Reform of Paternity Laws Fraud will Continue

Paula Zahn did a great piece on CNN about Paternity Fraud, and how unfair paternity laws destroy families.

Judge Judy weighs in on Unfair Paternity Laws

Judge Judy weighed in on unfair paterntiy laws on Larry King…

“If you have somebody who finds out two years, or three years, or five years, or 10 years after the event that he’s not a child’s biological father, and who wants to be relieved of that obligation, is it right to say to him, sorry, you may have been defrauded but the child’s best interests require you maintaining that parental relationship with the child and, therefore, we are not going to order a DNA test? And even if we do, we are not going to say you’re not the father. You’re going to pay support forever. Unreasonable.”

It’s obvious when someone is as outspoken as Judge Judy on the way Missouri defrauds non-dads.

Larry King show transcript here — http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0702/17/lkl.01.html

Missouri Supreme Court Denies DNA Paternity Proof

Recently Cynthia Fox wrote in the St. Louis Suburban Journals that — “Not long ago, Missouri’s Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, handed down a potentially significant decision in a case that began as a simple paternity matter, but evolved into a criminal case where fundamental tenets of American law such as the presumption of innocence and guilt beyond a reasonable doubt came under question.”

The case is extreme, but in real life it boils down to a man was found to be the father of a child that wasn’t his.  He had a civil judgement against him.  A prosecuting attorney brought a crimminal case against the man for non-support.  And the Supreme Court of the State of Missouri denied this man the opportunity to have a DNA test exhonerate him.

Near the end of her article Ms. Fox stated, “As someone who has chased after many a deadbeat dad, my first reaction was: “Yahoo, the ‘good guys’ won!” Yet, as the case lingered in my mind, that changed to: “But, at what price?” Three Supreme Court judges dissented, including Chief Justice Wolff. Their concern was that the presumption of innocence accorded criminal defendants and the requirement of proof beyond a reasonable doubt were being set aside.”

What isn’t said in this article that in both 2007 and again in 2008 bills were introduced in the Missouri House and Senate that would have ended Paternity Fraud in Missouri.  These laws would Make the Real Dad Pay while protecting innocent men who are being bankrupted by a broken legal system.

It’s time to call your State Representative, Write your State Senator, and demand that Missouri join the many states who now are more concerned with Making the Real Dad Pay instead of persecuting innocent families.

Paternity Fraud an Injustice to the Children Involved

In a story in the Kansas City Star a day ago, another in the STL Post Dispatch a month ago, 290 days ago KC Channel 4, and more and more news stories about the legalized theft caused by paternity fraud in Missouri….

Missouri’s antiquated laws are denying Truth and Justice when it comes to defrauding families via Paternity Fraud.

A man in Kansas City seperated from his wife… 18 months later she bears a child from another man… She states IN COURT that her husband IS NOT THE FATHER… But that (and a DNA Test proving it) isn’t enough in Missouri….

That man, defrauded by antiquated Missouri Laws is now in jail because he is innocent. Many hundreds of families are being affected each year.. Being told it does not matter what the truth is. They’re convenient, and the govenment can take their hard earned money.. Denying the victims own children of a better lifestyle, robbed of their college savings, being forced to live in substandard conditions, being denied the benefits of their own families hard work because of Paternity Fraud in Missouri.

Call or email your legislators and tell them you support the protection of innocent families by people who promote paternity Fraud in Missouri.