Child Support: A Must?
Every so often, we receive inquiries from prospective parents inquiring as to their potential child support obligations, particularly if their relations with a third party resulted in an unwanted pregnancy.
The short answer is that if you are the parent, you are required to financially support your child. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding a natural and unplanned conception, if paternity is established, the father is obligated to pay child support.
A court cannot eliminate a parent’s obligation to support their child, even if the parent wishes to have no involvement in the child’s life. Neither the court nor the state requires a pregnant person to terminate a disputed pregnancy.
Is Child Support A Must?
Our laws state that child support is the right of the child and a child has the right to be supported by his or her parents.