Sperm donor paying child support has order overturned

Child custody and child support can be one of the most contested issues when it comes to cases of divorce in Maryland. Ultimately, custody will land in the best interest of the child. However, it is not only cases of divorce that can present contested child support issues.

One body-builder that donated sperm to a woman he at one point conducted a sexual relationship with but never married was sued by that same woman for child support for the twins produced from the man’s sperm. Reportedly, the man was listed on the birth certificate for the children as their father when they were born in 2007. Additionally, he penned a declaration of paternity.

In the mean time the man had moved on with his separate life and had married another woman in Dec. 2007. When a ruling 2008 ordered the body builder to pay child support, he handed over thousands. Recently, an appeals court overturned the decision and the man no longer owes any support for the twins that were conceived via in vitro fertilization using his sperm.

The body builder reports that he has requests for sperm donation frequently, but is quoted as saying, “I learned a valuable and easy lesson: Never donate sperm.” However, if the man did not wish to encounter legal issues he may have done well to be better informed of his rights and legal limitations as a sperm donor. One lawyer specializing in reproductive technology is quoted as saying, “We find lots of situations where people don’t know what they are doing.”

Source: Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, “California court says Texas sperm donor owes no child support,” Associated Press, April 12, 2012