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U.S. Newswire
Former Army Paratrooper Faces Paternity Fraud
ATLANTA, Nov. 12, 2003, U.S. Newswire
Former Army paratrooper, Walter "Buddy" Everhart, of Powder
Springs, Ga., was married for fourteen years in a union that
produced five children, or so he thought. After his divorce,
his world was turned upside down when he learned that three,
and possibly four, of the children he thought were his
biologically, are not. DNA testing has conclusively proved it,
according to the National Family Justice Association.
Everhart said, "I am shocked and hurt by this revelation,
as anyone would be. Adding insult to injury, I had to file for
bankruptcy and my second wife and little boy are suffering,
too. How is it in the best interests of anyone for our family
to go under financially trying to support another man's
children, when we already know the truth?"
For years, 66 percent of Everhart's take home pay was sent
to his ex-wife as child support. Adding to the financial
hardship, Everhart, a Financial Software Consultant, was laid
off in August.
Now Everhart faces a hearing on November 18, 2003, in
Carrollton to determine whether he will still be legally
forced to pay $2800 per month in child support for another
man's children. If he is released, he will be the third man to
have been released using the new Georgia paternity law that
relieves men from future and past child support payments for
children proven by DNA testing not to be theirs.
His legal battle thus far has not been easy. Everhart said,
"Prior to the new paternity fraud law being enacted, the court
listened to the testimony of my ex-wife and the bio-dad where
they both admitted that I may not be the father of two of the
children born during the marriage. The result was the court
denied my motion for DNA testing and entered an order barring
me from seeking testing under penalty of contempt and being
thrown in jail."
In a hearing in June 2003, He presented a DNA test proving
that the youngest child was not his biologically.
Nevertheless, the judge told Everhart that he would not order
testing on the remaining children.
"Buddy had to fight all the way to the Georgia Supreme
court just to get the right to a DNA test and failed, " said
Carnell Smith, executive director of the National Family
Justice Association (NFJA). "This is no way to treat our
military men, nor any human being. Unfortunately, military men
nationwide are especially vulnerable to paternity fraud. This
man served his country, and it shouldn't be this difficult for
a veteran nor any man and his family to get justice," said
Smith.
Carnell Smith, of Atlanta, was the driving force behind the
landmark Georgia paternity fraud legislation that became law
on May 9, 2002.
Everhart's attorney, Donald A. Weissman, Esq., said, "I am
pleased that the legislature saw fit to provide a remedy for
men whose companions have materially deceived them into
believing that they are financially responsible for children
when that is not the case. The tragedy is that by maintaining
this deception the mother effectively destroys the
relationship between the children and the deceived father; and
totally deprives the children of knowing their biological
father."
As his ex-wife wishes, Everhart has had no access to the
children for 2 years although he has tried to be there for
them.
Everhart said, "With the financial burden that I have been
placed under by the courts for support, I barely have enough
income left to feed my current family - my wife and my little
boy, much less have any kind of meaningful visitation. Even
though the DNA tests show that the children are not mine, I
still love them. How can you unlove a child? It's a painful
situation that affects me, the children and my entire family
but there are other people that created the situation and they
are escaping responsibility for their action."
"Somebody please warn our military men about paternity
fraud," said Carnell Smith.
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