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<DIV><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" color=#000000 size=2
face=Arial>From: "Shoshana L. Boublil"
<toramada@bezeqint.net><BR>><BR><BR><BR>>> A man discovers a
letter his wife wrote her lover (it was open, in plain<BR>view) in which she
states that she's quite sure the kid is his [the lover's]<BR>b/c the husband was
in the army when she became pregnant.<BR><BR>This is the first indication the
husband had of the existence of a lover -<BR>or that the kid is not his. He
leaves the house before the birth and sues<BR>for divorce in Israel.<BR><BR>The
law in Israel recognizes the status of Mamzer and therefore has
laws<BR>following Jewish tradition to prevent and reduce the number of
possible<BR>mamzerim. Therefore, without eidim, the rule "Rov Be'ilot Achar
HaBa'al" is<BR>enforced and the husband is considered the child's father. The
law also<BR>prohibits any attempt at DNA testing to prove fatherhood in any case
where<BR>the result may make the child a mamzer.<BR><BR>The result is that the
husband has to pay child support for the next 21<BR>years for a child that
everyone knows is not his.<BR><BR>The question is: Is there any way to remove
the obligation to pay child<BR>support for this child WITHOUT making the child a
mamzer. The husband is<BR>willing to have his name on the ID and legal papers of
the child, he just<BR>doesn't want to pay for someone else's kid. ...<BR>Any
suggestions are welcome.<BR><BR>Note: we are willing to pursue this issue as it
may be a further step<BR>against infidelity if the lover knows he may be sued
for child support even<BR>if the woman is married, and even if he has a family
of his own.<<<BR><BR>Shoshana L. Boublil<BR><BR></FONT></DIV></DIV></DIV>
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<DIV>>>>>></DIV>
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<DIV>I don't have any halachic answers for you but to clarify the issue, you
should make it clear that there are several separate issues -- they are not
one issue:</DIV>
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<DIV>[1] you want to relieve the [possibly] cuckolded father of the necessity of
paying child support for the child that is [possibly] not his</DIV>
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<DIV>[2] you want the woman's lover, who is believed to be the actual biological
father (though there is no proof), to be forced to pay child support</DIV>
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<DIV>[3] you want the first husband to be considered the father because you
don't want to make the child a mamzer</DIV>
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<DIV>I submit that you can NOT accomplish both [2] and [3]. You have to
choose one or the other. For the child's sake, you need to let go of [2]
even though it means letting an adulterer off scot-free. </DIV>
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<DIV>As for [1] I would say by deliberately leaving that letter lying around in
the open, that woman inflicted intentional pain on her husband, and forced an
end to her marriage. You can show that she is probably guilty of adultery
without having to say that her husband isn't the father of her child.
There should be something here to relieve the husband of any financial
obligation. Perhaps you can force the wife to pay her former husband for
the pain and suffering she has inflicted on him -- make the amount she has to
pay him exactly equal to the amount he has to pay in child support, so it's a
wash.</DIV>
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<DIV><FONT lang=0 color=#0000ff size=2 face=Arial PTSIZE="10"
FAMILY="SANSSERIF"><B><BR>--Toby Katz<BR>=============</B><BR>Romney -- good
values, good family, good
hair<BR><BR><BR>-------------------------------------------------------------------
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