Charlotte and James’s marriage didn’t last long they should never have tied the knot in the first place. After just three years together, they had a daughter, then decided to divorce. Being a responsible father, James immediately agreed to pay maintenance for his daughter. He and his ex-wife settled on a fixed monthly sum, to be paid on the same day each month, with no need for the courts to get involved. That arrangement worked but only for a short while.
James is left reeling when an unexpected letter lands on his doormat. It turns out that his ex-wife is now demanding to strip him of his parental rights. How could this be possible? Enclosed with the letter is a DNA test that claims James isn’t the father at all. Instead, the girl’s biological father is a man with whom Charlotte had been legally married for several years. So, Charlotte had been seeing both men at once, and James had unknowingly been paying child support for five years.
Naturally, James feels deeply wounded and betrayed. But now he also believes that he should reclaim the money hes paid out all this time. After all, the child is not his, though hes been doing his duty for years.
English law does allow someone to reclaim maintenance payments if there is DNA proof that the child isnt biologically theirs. James is now taking legal action to recover his money.
Still, you cant help but wonder is he really doing the right thing?
