Opinion ID: 1213934
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Date for Determining Ability to Pay

Text: I disagree with the majority's decision to link the determination of the father's ability to pay solely to the date on which the mother obtained birth and medical benefits from the state. The right of recovery against the father for birth-related costs incurred by the mother is admittedly steeped in third-party liability. See W.Va.Code §§ 9-5-11(a), 48-1-244(3); Bernard B., 637 N.Y.S.2d at 663. However, just as the New York Court determined in Bernard B. that there was no state or federal statutory basis for requiring an ability to pay determination to be made at the time the expenses were incurred, there is similarly no basis for the majority's determination in the instant case that the ability to pay determination should only be made concurrent with the chronological granting of the medical and birth-related benefits to the mother. See id. Instead, the father's ability to pay should be determined, like other support obligations, by examining his present ability to pay. [10] See, e.g., W.Va.Code § 48-12-102; see Bernard B., 637 N.Y.S.2d at 663.