Levi Johnston needs to pay the piper now that the dust has settled in his custody war with Bristol Palin, and people are responding.

It appears Levi and wife Sunny set up a GoFundMe account for attorney's fees they racked up in their fight for Levi. He and Bristol settled the case ... they now have joint custody.

But lawyers need to get paid, so they set a goal of $5k, and as of this post they're raised more than $5,600.