Kansas sperm donor to appeal ruling over child support; he should have had legal counsel, says Kaine Fisher, Chairman of Rose Law Group Family Law Department

By Michael Winter | USATODAY

A Kansas man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple said Thursday he would appeal a judge’s ruling that he is the “presumptive father” of the mother’s 4-year-old daughter, which makes him potentially liable for child support.

In her ruling Wednesday, Shawnee County District Court Judge Mary Mattivi decided that William Marotta, of Topeka, did not qualify for sperm-donor protection under Kansas law because a licensed physician did not perform the artificial insemination.

Marotta, who answered the couple’s ad on Craigslist, argues he signed a contract that waived his parental rights and responsibilities. The Kansas Department for Children and Families claims he’s a father who owes back and future child support. The agency has paid the mother, Jennifer Schreiner, about $6,000 in public assistance.

Statement by Kaine Fisher, chairman of Rose Law Group Family Law Department:

“This outcome is exactly why I strongly believe consulting with a lawyer regarding every major life decision (such as donating your sperm) is crucial.  There obviously was a reason for the requirement that a physician oversee some process of the donation/insemination process –likely to prevent black market activity and the associated dangers and fraud associated with such practices.  Some may consider such provisions to be a technicality, but I see them as necessary  to a health and safe society.”

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If you’d like to discuss family law, contact with Kaine Fisher, chairman of Rose Law Group Family Law Department, kfisher@roselawgroup.com.