Illinois Judge Throws Out Child Support Claim Against Sperm Donor

 Posted on October 21, 2016 in Child Support

In Illinois, there is a statute that regulates a sperm donor’s liability for child support. Illinois law removes child support liability from any sperm donor as long as the insemination takes place with the assistance of a licensed physician. This is the only time donor agreements are specifically upheld in Illinois.

This September, a Cook County case dismissed a woman’s claim for child support from a sperm donor with whom the woman claimed she also had a romantic relationship. The Chicago Law Bulletin reports that this case is the first published case law that concerns donor agreements.

With the exception of truly unique circumstances, biological parents are generally not able to contract away their responsibilities for child support without court approval. The main circumstance where the court may agree to terminate the responsibility for child support is if one or both of the biological parents voluntarily give up their rights. In addition, there must be at least one person who is willing and able to adopt the child and take on those responsibilities.

Cook County Case

This Cook County case is quite different than many of the other sperm donor cases—the mother of the twins alleged that she had a sexual relationship with the sperm donor.

The mother placed an advertisement on the Internet in search of someone to donate sperm so that she could conceive via in vitro. She met the sperm donor and the two completed a donor agreement that she printed off the Internet. The agreement specified that the donor had no parental rights and responsibilities with regard to the child, even if the mother and the donor ended up becoming friends in the future. However, between their first meeting and the insemination procedure, the mother of the children had a sexual relationship with the donor. The mother then petitioned the court to force the donor to pay child support.

The crux of this case is whether the children were conceived during the insemination process or during the sexual relationship between the couple. Both the mother and the biological father of the children believed that the date of conception proves that the children were conceived during the IVF. Since the mother of the children was not willing to pay for an expert to put forward proof that the children were conceived through intercourse, the mother was seen as not contesting the fact that the children were conceived through IVF and the judge dismissed the case.

Reach Out to Us for Help

If you are sued for child support or are hoping to collect child support from the other parent, you should contact a knowledgeable child support attorney as soon as possible to help you. Our experienced DuPage County child support attorneys at Davi Law Group, LLC can help to advocate zealously for you in court.

Sources:

http://www.chicagolawbulletin.com/Archives/2016/09/08/Sperm-donor-child-support-9-8-16.aspx

http://www.hrc.org/laws-and-legislation/entry/illinois-donor-insemination-law