Wisconsin NBA fans have seen their fair share of family law cases emerge from the stars’ lives. Indiana Pacer Paul George is the latest star to be implicated in a child custody case.
A woman who alleges that the All-Star is the father of her child filed for sole custody of their child. She is currently living in New York with family members, where she has lived since the birth of her two-month-old daughter. George stated in February that he would embrace it if a paternity test showed that the child was biologically his. While a prenatal paternity test was conducted, George is asking for a new paternity test on the 2-month-old child, citing misgivings about the accuracy of a prenatal test. If the child is his, he is asking the case to be transferred to Florida where the alleged parents of the child met. He is also asking that he be given sole custody of the child. Additionally, he is asking that the court award child support to the mother in an amount less than the child support obligations of Florida.
While the mother’s previous petition for child custody cited George’s travel schedule as a reason to give her sole custody, George claims that shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to his child. He says that he is in a better position to make necessary choices for her in all areas of her life and has the necessary financial resources to provide care for her. On the other hand, he says that the mother isn’t capable of caring for the child as she is unemployed and voluntarily refusing to look for work.
Fathers who are not married to the mother of their children often must first establish paternity before they are entitled to other rights. They may seek the assistance of a family law lawyer in order to pursue a child custody of this nature.
Source: INDY Star, “Pacers’ Paul George seeks sole custody of child“, June 30, 2014
