A Racine County judge has told a 44-year-old Wisconsin man that he cannot have any more children until he is able to show he can support them financially. The man, who has nine children with six different women, owes almost $100,000 in delinquent child support. On December 3, the judge sentenced the man to three years of probation for delinquent payments. The order not to procreate is a condition of the probation.
A 2001 Wisconsin Supreme Court case gives the judge the authority to order the probation condition. That case also involved a man with nine children who was not making his child support payments. In its decision, the court said the man’s reproductive rights were not being violated because he could still procreate as long as he was paying his child support.
While this may be an extreme case, many non-custodial parents may find themselves falling behind in their child support payments and unable to get caught up. This can present substantial difficulty for a custodial parent who is not receiving timely payments needed to make ends meet. In Wisconsin, a non-custodial parent’s child support obligation is based on a percentage of the parent’s monthly income using statutory guidelines. If there is a substantial change in income or in the child’s needs, a modification of the child support order may become necessary.
An experienced child support attorney can help if one parent falls behind in payments. The attorney reviews the parties’ current circumstances to determine if a child support modification would be appropriate. The attorney also can help the custodial parent seek enforcement of an existing order.
Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, “Behind in child support, dad barred from having more kids,” Dec. 4, 2012
