By: Allison Schrader Dunn

Under what circumstances may a party determined to be a child’s father in paternity proceedings be held liable for retroactive child support? Like most family law matters, the particular facts of each case will dictate whether an award of retroactive child support, child support for the period before the adjudication of paternity, is warranted.

The New Jersey Parentage Act permits a child, the biological mother, a legal representative of the child, or any person with an interest recognized as justiciable by the court, to bring or defend an action for the purpose of determining the existence or nonexistence of the parent and child relationship. The act further establishes a 23-year statute of limitations for actions to determine the existence or nonexistence of a parent-child relationship, commencing from the date of the child’s birth.