Oregon Family Law: No Legal Obligation to Support a Child in This Country?

Also in the Friday, 3/28/08, Oregonian , a story by Anna Griffin, Portland mayor’s race: Money woes linger from Dozono’s past, Mr. Dozono was quoted as saying a curious thing:

‘…. Ohno [Dozono friend and business colleague] had a wife and child in Japan, but also fathered a son with an American woman, Lori Lanning.

Ohno went to Dozono for advice.

“I said, ‘In this country, you don’t have any obligation.’ But he wanted to do something. So he put his name on the birth certificate. He provided for them financially,” Dozono says. “I told him, ‘If something should happen to you, I’m going to be in the middle. We need to get attorneys involved and set up a trust.’ “….’ (Read full story.)

IF it was a correct quote (and it may not be – or it may be way out of context), I get to give my usual public law librarian admonition: please consult an attorney before coming to legal conclusions. And if friends who think you are a very smart person ask you for legal advice, please refer them to an attorney (or at least to the law library 🙂

Oh, and Oregon has an excellent network of Family Law Facilitators stationed at most county courthouses.