Woman Ordered to Refund Ex-Husband Over $21K In Child Support

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – A woman who sought child support for her minor son during divorce proceedings has been ordered to refund her former husband $21,600 after DNA tests showed the child was not his.

The 47-year-old man had initially sought to recover $43,200, the sum he said he had spent on the child’s maintenance for 12 years.

However, his ex-wife insisted the child was his and asked the court to order child support.

The man and his wife were married in June 2001. During the marriage, the wife gave birth to three children whom he believed were his. The other children are adults.

However, after the husband filed for divorce he took a paternity test in December 2022, which showed that he was not the father of his son.

His wife disputed the results and requested a second paternity test in April 2023. The results were the same.

The wife didn’t abandon her petition for child support until she was threatened with perjury during the proceedings.

Justice Denise Lewis-Johnson found that the man was “deceived, defrauded and misled” by his wife.

While the judge determined that the man should be compensated for paternity fraud, she found that he was only entitled to half of the money sought as he had received some joy from parenting.

The Court ordered the Registrar’s Office to remove the father’s name from the birth certificate.

The wife was also ordered to pay for counseling for the child, who had lost the only father he knows.