Yes. The law says that parents must support their child from the time the child is born until the child turns 18.  If you have a child–even if you didn’t know about a child that you fathered–you can be required to pay child support from the time of the child’s birth.  Even if the mother deliberately kept you from knowing about the child, you could be sued for past and current child support at any time up to two years after your child turns eighteen.

In Alaska, the obligation to support your child typically lasts until the child turns 18 years of age.  But if your child is still in high school, or in an equivalent vocational school when he or she turns 18, your child support responsibility continues until your child graduates or turns 19 years old – whichever comes first.  Your child support obligation ends if your child dies or is emancipated.

Even though you are a minor, you must support your child.  You are responsible for paying for food, clothes, a place to live, education, medical care, and other necessary things until the child turns 18.

Most Alaska teenagers receive an Alaskan Permanent Fund Dividend. Some Alaskans also receive monetary benefits from their Native corporations.  These funds would be used to figure out how much your child support payment should be.  If both parents are minors, the grandparents may be ordered to pay child support for their grandchild.

The Alaska Superior Court or the Child Support Services Division (CSSD) can determine the amount of child support that a parent must pay.  A court rule called Alaska Rule of Civil Procedure 90.3 explains how the amount of child support is calculated.  You can read more about how child support is determined in Section 5 of this Guide.

In Alaska, the mandatory minimum child support is $50.00 per month or $600.00 per year.  A parent may also be responsible to pay for health care expenses not covered by insurance or a government benefit program.