First Order to Support Grandchild Challenged
The first grandparents ordered to pay support for their child’s offspring under a new Wisconsin law challenged the statute Tuesday, saying it unfairly penalizes couples whose children are not adults.
Dodge County Circuit Judge Daniel Klossner on April 9 ordered Jean Mayberry and Donald Lueptow of Beaver Dam to pay $310 a month to support their grandson, born to their 17-year-old daughter. The grandparents are divorced.
Klossner’s order was the first of its kind in the state after the Legislature in November adopted the nation’s only law to make grandparents financially responsible for the offspring of their minor children. The law relieves grandparents of their liability when their children reach age 18 and are considered adults. Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union filed the challenge on behalf of the couple Tuesday with the state Court of Appeals.
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