Many in Washington know that if a person is the non-custodial parent of a child in our state, they will likely be the subject of a child support order. Such child support orders are mandatory and intended to assist the custodial parent in the care and raising of a child. When the non-custodial parent cannot be found, the state often pays for the care of the child through public assistance programs.
In one case that may be of interest to readers in Washington, another state is seeking to reclaim some of the public assistance money that they have paid to a biological mother of a child. In the matter, the state has asserted that the non-custodial father of the child involved in this case should pay child support for his offspring. However, the father objects due to the fact that he fathered the child as a result of a sperm donation.
The court must now decide if the sperm donor is the legal father of the child at the center of the support debate. If it decides that he is, the man will be the subject of a child support order that may be familiar to many in our state. Under such an order, he will likely find that he must pay child support for the remainder of the time that the child is under the age of majority.
The facts of this unique child support case may be unfamiliar to many in our state. However, like other non-custodial parents in our state, the man in this case may find that he is responsible to make payments for the benefit of his child. However, this liability will not be determined until the court in his state makes a decision in this matter. When a person in Washington finds that they are in a child support case, they may wish to consider all applicable rules to determine what they may owe for the care of their children.