I'm am a full-time college student who found out in May that I did in fact father a child. The mother waited well over a year to file for a paternity test, which I obviously submitted to and a few weeks later learned the truth. At the end of August, I am to appear in court to set have a child support amount set. I work part-time during the summer, but the large size of my school coupled with the relatively small size of the community in which it is located make finding a decent job that will work around my school hours fairly difficult.
Enough background information I supposed, I do actually have a few questions. First off, is going into court without legal representation going to be suicide? There is no way I will be able to afford a decent attorney with the meager amount of money I'm able to save during the summer months. Secondly, is there anything I should bring to court no matter what? I haven't the slightest idea of what is expected of me other than showing up. That is to say, I don't know if the research in regards to my income now and in the past has already been done by the courts, or if showing up with no pay stubs/tax documents will leave me in a bad spot. Lastly, I still have two more years of college. Is it possible the courts will force me to quit school to obtain full-time employment? I've never been one to dodge my responsibilites, but wouldn't finishing college and obtaining a much higher paying job than I would be able to do so otherwise a benefit to all parties involved?
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. I just have no idea what to expect. My university does provide legal advice in some form, but it isn't available to me as I'm not enrolled in the summer term, and I am do in court two days into the new semester.
Enough background information I supposed, I do actually have a few questions. First off, is going into court without legal representation going to be suicide? There is no way I will be able to afford a decent attorney with the meager amount of money I'm able to save during the summer months. Secondly, is there anything I should bring to court no matter what? I haven't the slightest idea of what is expected of me other than showing up. That is to say, I don't know if the research in regards to my income now and in the past has already been done by the courts, or if showing up with no pay stubs/tax documents will leave me in a bad spot. Lastly, I still have two more years of college. Is it possible the courts will force me to quit school to obtain full-time employment? I've never been one to dodge my responsibilites, but wouldn't finishing college and obtaining a much higher paying job than I would be able to do so otherwise a benefit to all parties involved?
Thank you very much for taking the time to read this. I just have no idea what to expect. My university does provide legal advice in some form, but it isn't available to me as I'm not enrolled in the summer term, and I am do in court two days into the new semester.
