Background
Rhiannon Stroede was ordered to pay Jason Royal $91.81 per month in child support for their child, D.R.R. The payments were withheld from Stroede’s Social Security disability benefits and disbursed to Royal by the Dodge County Child Support Agency. In a separate proceeding initiated by Royal, a Fond du Lac County circuit court terminated Stroede’s parental rights on March 24, 2022.
Payments continued while Stroede unsuccessfully appealed the termination order and did not stop until February 2025. The agency calculated that Stroede had overpaid $3,234.07 after her parental rights were terminated. Stroede sought reimbursement, but the Dodge County circuit court denied her motion on the ground that she had not promptly moved to terminate the child-support order. She appealed.
The Court’s Holding
The Court of Appeals held that an order terminating parental rights automatically terminates the affected parent’s child-support obligation as of the date the termination order is entered. Under Wis. Stat. § 48.43(2), termination permanently severs all legal rights and duties between the parent and child, including the parent’s duty to provide and the child’s right to receive support. Stroede therefore was not required to file a separate motion under Wis. Stat. § 767.59, and her appeal of the termination order did not stay that consequence.
The court further held that the circuit court had equitable authority to order Royal to reimburse Stroede for payments he received after the termination order. Because the relevant amounts and dates were undisputed and Stroede had no remaining obligation against which a credit could be applied, the court reversed and remanded with directions to order Royal to repay $3,234.07. It also denied Royal’s motion for costs and attorney fees, concluding that Stroede’s successful appeal was not frivolous.
Key Takeaways
- A termination-of-parental-rights order automatically ends the affected parent’s child-support obligation for that child on the date the order is entered.
- The terminated parent need not file a separate motion to modify or terminate child support when the support order concerns only the child covered by the termination order.
- A circuit court may use its equitable authority to require reimbursement of undisputed support payments received after the obligation automatically ended.
Why It Matters
The decision clarifies the interaction between Wisconsin’s termination-of-parental-rights and child-support statutes. Once a termination order severs the parent-child relationship, an existing support order for that child becomes a nullity rather than remaining enforceable until separately modified.
The court limited its analysis to an order covering only the child subject to the termination proceeding. It did not decide whether a modification motion would be necessary to calculate support when the same order also covers children whose parent-child relationships remain intact.