Charly Haley

chaley@dmreg.com

A Davenport man is protesting a state law that requires him to pay child support for a child that isn't his.

Joe Vandusen, 45, received a letter earlier this month from the Iowa Department of Human Services notifying him that he would be required to pay child support for his estranged wife's child, even though he is not the father, Vandusen told The Des Moines Register Friday evening.

Vandusen and his wife have hardly talked in 15 to 17 years, aside from an occasional phone call or Facebook message, he said. "I was married to my ex a couple of years, but we didn't see eye-to-eye, so we split up," without filing for an official divorce, Vandusen said. The child Vandusen is expected to help support is about 1 year old, he said.

Vandusen contacted the Department of Human Services' Child Support Recovery Unit to say he's not the biological father of his wife's child, and he offered to take a paternity test to prove it — but he was told it didn't matter, according to state law, he said.

"They said since I'm still legally married, I'm going to be responsible for the child support," Vandusen said.

A spokesperson from the Department of Human Services confirmed to WQAD-TV in Davenport that in a case like Vandusen's, the husband is considered the legal father of his wife's newborn child, even though he has not seen her in nearly two decades. The Register could not reach state officials for comment Friday evening.

Other states have similar laws, which are aimed at making sure all children are sufficiently financially supported.

Vandusen was recently laid off from his job, so he doesn't have the money to pay child support, he said. He also doesn't have the money to pay for an attorney to file for divorce and to fight in court against the child support requirement.

So he went to the media to draw attention to his case, he said. Since his story aired on WQAD on Wednesday, Vandusen has been contacted by many people from across the U.S. offering their support, including three other men from Iowa in a similar situation, he said.

Vandusen also has established a fundraiser to help with his legal expenses at www.crowdrise.com. The amount of child support that Vandusen will be expected to pay has not yet been established, he said, but the initial cost of an attorney will be about $2,000.

"I'd like to see my divorce get filed; I want the DNA test to prove I'm not the father, and then they'd drop the case against me," he said.

He also hopes Iowa lawmakers will notice his case and change the law, he said.

Vandusen already owes child support on his own child, who was born to another woman before his marriage, and "in that case, I didn't deny it," he said.

But being asked to support a child that is not his is not fair, Vandusen said.

"I'm just trying to get it stopped," he said.