He’s not the dad, now he wants his money back
Dear Mrs Macaulay,
I recently found out that the child I had been supporting for three years is not biologically mine. The mother had convinced myself and another man that we were the father (we didn’t know each other) and had been collecting money from us both. The other man went to court to get access to the child, and a DNA test was ordered, and he was declared the father. It was after all that, that the mother broke the news to me. I am devastated, but also angry, because I forked over a lot of money since she was pregnant, and she knowingly deceived me. Added to that, I almost lost my wife and family as this woman had confronted my wife when she was pregnant, and tried to end my marriage. I admitted to my mistake, a one-night lapse in judgement, but I wanted to stand up to my responsibilities. I was even renting an apartment for her, and bought her a car. What can I do to recover my money? For the most part I have bank records showing monthly transfers to her account, as well as e-mails and text messages where she would ask me for funds towards the child.
I am sorry that you were deceived by the mother of a child that the child was yours and nearly had your marriage and family shattered as a result, and expended a great deal of money on the woman and her child.
I must say that what the woman did was despicable and criminal. She is one of those women who erodes the good reputation of women and causes men to use stereotypical expressions denoting women’s lack of truthfulness. I therefore hope that you will take legal action against this woman to at least recover all the monies which she knowingly extracted from you on her false claim that you were the father of her child.
Can you claim and get back all that her false claim that you were the father of her child caused you to pay out? The answer is yes, you can do so. You should obtain the services of an attorney-at-law. A claim should be made against her for all the sums and expenditures she got from you and made you meet based on her false statement. She obtained money by false pretences from you or by fraudulent means and she should pay. These are also criminal offences. I would venture to say that she would be more than willing to pay you back or enter into an arrangement with your lawyer(s) to make the refunds by periodic payments, if she cannot refund all at once.
Since she did not put your name in her child’s birth records, she would not fall under the offence listed under the Registration of (Births and Deaths) Act and she also does not fall under the provision in the Children(Guardianship and Custody)Act wherein the court could order her to pay you back all the expenses you met for the child. But the law is not toothless.
This is why you must proceed to make your claim based on her deceitfulness and/or fraudulent acts. You say you have most of your bank records and e-mails and text messages asking you for money. You clearly have the evidence of the financial loss you suffered. You also need the proof of the declaration that the other man is the biological father of the child based on the DNA results, and of course your records would show that your monthly transfers to her account stopped after the court’s decision, which is when she confessed to you.
Please therefore retain your lawyer so that your records and facts can be considered in detail for a decision to be made. I am sure she would prefer that the matter is dealt with as a civil matter than as a criminal one. Good luck.
Margarette May Macaulay is an attorney-at-law, Supreme Court mediator, notary public, and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions via e-mail to allwoman@jamaicaobserver.com; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5. All responses are published. Mrs Macaulay cannot provide personal responses.
DISCLAIMER:
The contents of this article are for informational purposes only, and must not be relied upon as an alternative to legal advice from your own attorney.
