September 29, 2011

Melissa Etheridge Custody Battle

Posted in Celebrity Child Support, Custody tagged at 2:02 pm by demetriagraves

Singer Melissa Etheridge and her ex-partner, Tammy Lynn Michaels, are currently battling over custody of their twins, division of property, visitation rights plus child and spousal support. The Grammy-winning Etheridge, 50, and Michaels, 36, were together nine years before their breakup last year. Michaels gave birth to the couple’s four-year-old twins, son Miller and daughter Rose, using an anonymous sperm donor. Among other disputes, Etheridge is reportedly claiming that the couple’s marriage vows in 2003 were non-binding and that they were never married.
In separate filings to end their California domestic partnership, each claim “irreconcilable differences.” Etheridge is asking the court for joint custody of the couple’s twins. Michaels,  says she wants full custody of the children with visitation rights for Etheridge.
Michaels has previously claimed that Etheridge left her and their children penniless, allegations Etheridge has denied.
Michaels, said on her blog that she gave up an acting career in 2001 to care for the children. She has filed for a dissolution of marriage, rather than domestic partnership, believing she is more likely to prevail in her claim for spousal supports if the court views their relationship as a marriage.

August 11, 2011

Linda Evangelista’s Child Support Demand

Posted in Celebrity Child Support tagged at 2:48 pm by demetriagraves

Super model Linda Evangelista, who once remarked that, she doesn’t get up for less than $10,000 a day, has recently asked a New York court to award her $46,000 a month in child support from her child’s father, Francois Henri-Pinault. Who is the CEO of PPR-SA, a luxury brand corporation and his annual earnings are rumored to be around $5.2 million. The annual total of the child support requested is less than 11% of Pinault’s annual income. While recent events may have put a damper on Evangelista’s earnings, she is reported to be worth $8 million, far from an income level where her child is in danger of becoming a public charge.

However, the child support award will not be based on the wealth of one or both parents. New York law states that in high income cases where parental income exceeds $130,000, as in this case, an award of child support should be based on the child’s actual needs and the amount required for the child to live an appropriate lifestyle. In Brim v. Combs, the Appellate Division held the Family Court erred in basing a child support award in part on the amount of support the father, Sean “Puffy” Combs, was paying for another child from a different woman, and not on evidence of the child’s expenses, resources and needs. The court used the custodial parent’s testimony and net worth statement as evidence of the child’s actual needs.

Apparently, the majority of the $46,000 a month in child support would cover a 24-hour nanny and personal drivers for the child. In this case, a 24-hour nanny for a child whose mother has a career like Evangelista’s may be viewed as reasonable by a court. And while the request of personal drivers for a child may appear excessive and unreasonable to most, a judge may think they are necessary for the child’s lifestyle.

Pinault is the husband of Oscar-nominated actress, producer and director Salma Hayek. Could Evangelista seek contribution to the child support payment from Pinault’s wife? In New York, the courts generally will not look to the spouse of the non-custodial parent for child support unless the parent is hiding assets, makes claims of indebtedness or becomes voluntarily unemployed or underemployed to evade child support payments.

Since child support payments, under New York law, are retroactive to the date of the support application, Pinault will be obligated to pay from the application’s filing date. New York law is clear: child support awards should be based on a child’s actual needs. Will the Family Court order Pinault to pay $46,000 a month in child support to Evangelista? We’ll have to wait and see.

June 23, 2011

Schwarzenegger Pays for Child Support to Shriver

Posted in Celebrity Child Support tagged at 1:34 pm by demetriagraves

Arnold Schwarzenegger may be indestructible as the Terminator, but his estranged wife Maria Shriver is doing major damage to his bank account. Apparently she has demanded and is getting a significant amount child support for two youngest of their four children, even though Maria is independently wealthy. The couple separated after 25 years of marriage last month, after Shriver learned that Arnold had fathered a child with their housekeeper, Mildred “Patty” Baena. Though neither of them has filed for divorce yet.

The 63-year-old actor has agreed to give financial assistance to Shriver for their younger sons Patrick, 17, and Christopher, 13. They also have two daughters Katherine, 21, and Christina, 19. Arnold is also said to be paying for Patrick and Christopher’s private school fees.

Even though Maria is a Kennedy, and has inherited a great deal of money from her parent’s estate since their deaths, she is taking the child support. Under California law, she is entitled to the child support, once either one of them files for divorce.

I’s been rumored that Maria and Arnold’s lawyers have been working on a divorce settlement but in the meantime Arnold is willingly paying the money to Maria. Plus insiders claim Shiver has enlisted the help of forensic accountants to get an accurate view of her estranged spouse’s assets in order to ensure their divorce is fair.

May 11, 2011

Celebrity Suits For Child Support – Starsky & Dupri

Posted in Celebrity Child Support, Child Support tagged , at 8:35 am by demetriagraves

One of the stars of ‘Starsky and Hutch’, Paul Michael Glaser is facing legal action from his ex-wife after allegedly failing to make child support payments.

The now 69-year-old actor, who played Detective David Starsky in the classic 1970s cop series, is being sued by his former wife Tracy Barone, who has accused him of owing $3,224 in child support payments and $13,000 in spousal support, according to legal documents filed in L.A. County Superior Court.

Glaser and Barone, divorced in 2007 citing “irreconcilable differences”, are parents to a 13-year-old daughter named Zoe.

Also in the news this week is Grammy award winning producer, Jermaine Dupri is being sued by Sarai Jones, over missed child-support payments that a judge recently ordered him to pay her. After a paternity test in March, a Fulton County Superior Court Judge ordered Dupri to pay $2,500 a month and an additional $7,500 to Jones after the test proved that he was the father to Jones’ seven-month-old daughter.

The lawsuit comes at a time when Dupri, who has produced hits for artists including Usher and Mariah Carey and was one of hip-hop’s top earners in 2006, is facing financial troubles. His mansion was up for foreclosure and set to be auctioned last week, but the sale was canceled at the last minute. Plus Dupri apparently owes more than $493,000 in back taxes.