Expert: Rod Powers - 5/29/2007

Question
My boyfriend and I have been together for a year and half. we were living together until this past week. I am almost 5 months pregnant and because of certain issues we have had he packed his things up and left and didn't even tell me that he had an apartment. I mean really I had no clue that he had an apartment and was planning to leave.  Now legally he is still married but has been seperated from his wife for over 10yrs.  I am trying not to be a nasty person and take him for child support and all that good stuff but I have a feeling he is trying to bail out just to get away from his responsibility what can I do, am I allowed to go to his commanding officer?  He is in the navy and is an E5

Answer
Hi Jackie,

At this point in time, there's nothing much his commanding officer could do. You're not legally his "dependent," because you're not married, so he has no legal obligation to provide you with support, at this time. The commander has no authority to order him to get back together with a girlfriend.

Once the baby is born, it's another story. Under Navy regulations, he is required to provide "adequate support" for his dependents (ie, his child). For details, see my article at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/divfinance/a/divorcesupport.htm

I should mention here that all the services are reluctant to get involved with child support issues, unless there is a court-order for child support. So, your first priority, once the child is born is to go to court and get the court to order him to pay child support.

For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military information site at: http://usmilitary.about.com

Hope this helps!

Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com