Child support law 'outrageous'

[The Straight Story]

Child support law 'outrageous' - woman has baby with another man before divorce is final, ex ordered to pay support for it

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - When a divorced dad was ordered to pay support for a child who isn't his, he turned to Target 8 for help.

It's legal for the state to order Joseph Chmelar to pay for another man's child and to deny biological fathers who want to pay from doing so. One lawmaker called that "outrageous."

Joseph Chmelar is a divorced dad of two. Not even nine months after the split, Chmelar got some shocking news from his boys.

"They got in the car and they were bouncing up and down and telling me that mom has a new baby and I said, 'Is she baby-sitting?'" Chmelar recalled. "Is she looking after someone?"

Chmelar couldn't believe it, but his ex-wife had given birth. She had gotten pregnant during their separation by another man. At the time, she was still legally married to Chmelar.

Court papers clearly acknowledge the baby is not Chmelars. They show the child belongs to another man and say that man had "established a personal, financial or custodial relationship with the child." The court ordered medical expenses be split between the biological parents.

http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/target_8/lawmaker-calls-child-support-law-outrageous

[PowerToThePeople]

1. Court Fail.

[ZombieHorde]

2. That is pretty lame. nt

[The Straight Story]

3. Here is a question that is interesting:

Woman has a child and can put it up for adoption if she does not want to raise it.

After the child is born can the father of the child stop it (several scenarios, married, not, etc) ? If not, does he have to pay to adopt it and can he then put same child up for adoption (and charge someone for it)?

At birth - who has custody to decide if the child can be put up for adoption?

[ZombieHorde]

7. I would say, under most circumstances,

if one parent wants to adopt, and other does not, then the one that does not to adopt would gain full custody. If both parents want to adopt, then both parents loose custody.

If the child was created by man-against-woman rape, then the father should not have any custody or say.

[newcriminal]

4. The court ordered that he did not have to pay.

After Target 8 starting looking though the Friend of the Court's files, it dropped its request for Chemlar to pay child support. 10 days ago, an Ottawa County judge issued an order clearing Chemlar of all responsibility for that child.

[The Straight Story]

5. Do you think they would have had the press not gotten involved?

I am guessing not.

[NutmegYankee]

6. Another success story for getting the local news involved.

It seems that whenever there is an outrageous event, going to the local news does wonders.

[ZombieHorde]

8. I am glad to read that. nt