NBA All-Star seeks child custody

Nevada fans of Indiana Pacer Paul George may be applauding the player for taking his child-rearing responsibility seriously. The star recently filed a petition for sole child custody after the child’s New York mother filed her own petition to receive sole custody.

The star stated in February that he would embrace fatherhood if he was determined through a paternity test to be the baby girl’s father. Although the child’s mother said that a prenatal paternity test a probability of 99.9 percent that George was the biological father, the All-Star is seeking his own test because of misgivings regarding the methodology used in the prenatal test. The star’s spokesman said that it is a routine paternity case, but some individuals might find it unusual that an athlete like George would be willing to accept responsibility and support a child who was found legally to be his.

According to the mother’s petition, she should receive full custody because of George’s travel schedule. However, George’s petition provided multiple reasons why it is in the girl’s best interest to have him as her sole custodial parent, including that he has the necessary resources to care for the child and the mother is voluntarily unemployed and dependent on others to provide care to her and the child. The mother has been living with family members in New York since giving birth, and her lawyer says she is not working because she is taking care of the child. If George does not receive sole custody, he asks the court to award an amount less than the child support guidelines suggest.

Unmarried parents of a child may not reach an amicable decision regarding who should care for the child, especially if they do not reside in the same state. Fathers may choose to petition the court to acknowledge their paternity and pursue child custody.

Source: INDY Star, “Pacers’ Paul George seeks sole custody of child“, June 30, 2014