Forsyth & Forsyth is a law firm practicing in Monroe County Rochester, New York in area of Divorce, Tax, Estates, Child Support, Custody, Wills

PAYING CHILD SUPPORT WHEN YOU ARE NOT THE FATHER...

Does a father have to pay child support for a child conceived through artificial insemination? The answer is a somewhat surprising ?yes?- even when the mother initially signed a settlement agreement which said she did not want child support.

In April, 2008, the New York Courts decided a case with these issues. The parties were married in 1995 and had two children. After the second child, the husband had a vasectomy. Just before the parties signed a Separation Agreement, the wife became pregnant by artificial insemination. She signed the Agreement while pregnant and specifically agreed her husband was not responsible for child support for the unborn child.

The Court ruled that the Agreement (wherein the wife waived child support) was void against public policy. The Court determined that the husband was the father of the unborn child and he must pay child support for all three children.

The husband appealed the first Court decision to the Appellate Division, 3rd Dept. The Appeals court agreed with the lower court and held that the father was still responsible for paying child support for the child conceived through artificial insemination. The Court stated that the needs of the child must take precedence over the terms of the Agreement.