On the legislative news front, the Tennessee House of Representatives today postponed voting on a child support bill that has been much debated by sending it back to the judiciary committee.  The proposed bill would allow a person that is found to not be the father of a child to recover child support payments he had already paid out from the actual biological father. 

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville), and is being debated over the potential psychological impact such actions may have on the children involved.  Democrat Rep. Sherry Jones argues that the bill is “terrible for children” in its ability to tear kids away from the men they’ve known as fathers.  You can follow the bill’s journey by clicking here. 

We can understand both sides of this contested bill – while it must be frustrating to have made child support payments only to discover you are not the biological father of a child, it can be equally emotionally difficult on the child’s behalf to come to the same realization and deal with the consequences of that, including a lengthy legal process that can make it seem to be all about the money to the child. 

The only recommendation we have for this kind of situation is to be sure of paternity before a divorce is final – this way all parties are clear from the get-go, support is being paid from the correct source, and the children are able to come to terms with any changes at an already changeful time in their lives.