"Minn. Stat. 257.66 allows a court to go back two years prior to the filing of a petition in a paternity case for past child support, as well as for expenses of pregnancy and confinement, and the mother’s lost wages. The statute requires the potential support obligor to pay “all or a portion of the reasonable expenses . . ., after consideration of the relevant facts, including the relative financial means of the parents; the earning ability of each parent; . . . “. Without proper representation, the tendency will be for the Court to charge the support obligor for the full brunt of the expenses that could potentially be imposed.
A second area where support can be awarded retroactively two years prior to a motion is in those cases where a county is seeking reimbursement for public benefits paid on behalf of a minor child. County attorneys pursuing these claims will routinely request reimbursement from a potential support obligor for the maximum amount regardless of any limitations inherent in the law. If there is a current support order, the county will not be entitled to reimbursement beyond any arrears in the existing order. The county will also not be entitled to a retroactive upward modification of the prior order in an attempt to obtain reimbursement. Finally, any calculation of past support for reimbursement to the county must consider the obligor’s financial condition at the time public assistance was paid, rather than the obligor’s financial condition at the time of the motion.
Lastly, legal guardians of the children who are not receiving public assistance also can apply for retroactive support pursuant to Minn. Stat. 256.87, Subd. 5. This statute allows retroactive support “only if the person or entity has physical custody with the consent of a custodial parent, or approval of the court.” In the vast majority of cases where this statute is applied there is no prior court order. Rather, the situation usually involves a separation between parents, where one parent retains custody of the child. It is important to understand that a non?custodial parent in this situation has the potential exposure of having to pay support retroactive for two years, thereby resulting in a heavier ongoing support burden than would otherwise have been the case.
Occasionally a county will bring a motion seeking reimbursement of public assistance and add to the motion a request for an award of retroactive support to the custodial parent for the period of time before public assistance was being provided. There are several defenses to this type of proceeding, not the least of which is the fact that Minnesota courts will only allow custodial parents to seek retroactive support pursuant to this statute in the context of a marital dissolution proceeding (as opposed to a reimbursement proceeding). In addition, these types of motions brought by the county attorney’s office are usually prosecuted by the county attorney on behalf of the county, not the custodial parent, and therefore the court will not have jurisdiction to award retroactive support to the custodial parent."
