T.I. Ordered To Pay Additional Child Support

February 26th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Child Support | No Comments »

The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting rapper T.I. (aka Clifford Harris) has been ordered to pay more child support. The mother of his two sons, LaShon Dixon, claimed she was not getting enough support and a Superior Court judge agreed. Dixon will now receive $5,000 a month instead of the $3,000 she was previously awarded. However, T.I. will no longer be financially responsible for the children’s private school education. The parties will continue to have joint legal custody of the children with T.I. having visitation with the children every other weekend.
Clearly there was a trade off with the child support being increased, but the payment for private school tuition being eliminated. T.I. may actually wind up paying less child support than he was under the previous order, given the cost of private school tuition for two children. Presumably if Dixon enrolls the children in private school, she will now be solely responsible for the cost.

Atlanta Housewife Fighting for Custody

February 23rd, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Custody | No Comments »

The AJC is reporting Real Housewives of Atlanta star Lisa Wu Hartwell is asking the court to reconsider the custody arrangement she has with her former husband, R&B star Keith Sweat. Fans of the show may be surprised to hear Wu Hartwell has two other children (since they were never shown or mentioned on the hit show), but Wu Hartwell recently stated Sweat did not consent to the children appearing on camera. It is also unknown if there are any issues with the children or their living arrangements that would cause the court to change the custody of the children.

The AJC reports, “In 2003, Sweat received primary custody of the children. According to the final divorce decree at the time written by Fulton Superior Court judge Cynthia D. Wright, Sweat and Wu Hartwell married in 1992 and had what the judge termed at the time an “extremely tumultuous relationship.” Judge Wright wrote that “there is evidence that Father has been violent towards Mother, but no evidence he has ever been violent with any of his children.” The judge felt the children at the time “lacked structure in their lives, due in substantial part to Mother’s numerous business ventures and frequent trips out of town… Mother has a history of spending money on herself excessively rather than providing for the children… There was some evidence at trial that Mother implicitly participated in robbing Father in the presence of the children. She also took money from Father prior to the initiation of this matter. This behavior causes the Court to question Mother’s maturity and judgment.”

Also, in an recent public appearance, the AJC reports a fan asked Wu Hartwell why she responded so violently to Kim, one of the other Housewives. Hartwell stated, “She did things two days regarding me and my children. It kind of makes it seem like I went off saying something else. She said some things.” [Kim was saying Lisa lost custody of her kids to Keith Sweat because of drugs. She denied that.]”

Wu Hartwell is now married to a former NFL player and owns a business. The two also have one child.

It used to be that in Georgia, once a child reached the age of fourteen (the age of Hartwell and Sweat’s oldest child), they could simply sign an affidavit electing to live with the other parent, and it was pretty much a done deal. Georgia law has recently changed however, so that now although a child who has reached the age of fourteen can still select the parent they want to live with, it also has to be determined that the selection is in the best interests of the child. It will be interesting to see how the judge reacts to the possibility that if Wu Hartwell is given custody, the children could be exposed to a national television audience. Is that in the best interest of the children?

Wife of Former NBA Star Makes Outrageous Claims

February 23rd, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Star Divorces | No Comments »

Jayson Williams, former a NBA star who is awaiting retrial for allegedly shooting his chauffeur, is being accused by his wife of having anger issues at home, too. Williams’ wife, Tanya Young Williams, has filed for divorce claiming “cruel and inhumane treatment.” According to TMZ, Tanya alledges Jayson faked suicide and stomach cancer. Tanya also claims she found cocaine and condoms in Jayson’s drawer, he threatened to kill her and Williams repeatedly refilled prescriptions for Cialis, even though they had limited sexual interaction. And she claims he peed in the sink.

As if peeing in the sink wasn’t bad enough, The Post also reports “Tanya Young Williams further alleges the former Nets forward punched out a car window while his kids sat inside the vehicle, and hurt himself after stumbling drunk into their daughters’ room to argue with his wife. She also says he was a lousy dad who never took their daughters on vacation even as he took multiple trips with friends. ”

Tanya is seeking sole custody of their children along with their New York home and other assets. However, The Post also goes on to say, “Jayson’s lawyer, Christopher Adams, said Tanya has been threatening for months to make up false stories like these unless Jayson submitted to her outrageous demands.”

Sounds like Jayson Williams will be spending a lot of money on legal fees in the coming months.

Former NFL Player Seeks Reduction In Child Support

February 19th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Child Support | 2 Comments »

According to the AJC, former Denver Broncos running back Travis Henry appeared in DeKalb County Superior Court today to try and reduce one of his child support payments. The court denied his request. Henry has nine children by nine different women.

At the hearing, Henry’s attorney argued that his client’s $3,000-a-month payments to Jameshia Beacham, the mother of his 5-year-old son, should be reduced because Henry is no longer earning a paycheck in the National Football League. Henry is also awaiting prosecution on federal drug charges in Colorado. Obviously if Henry goes to prison, it will affect his ability to pay child support.

Henry offered Beacham a one-time payment of $100,000 to settle the case. Her attorney scoffed at the offer in court Thursday. Beacham’s attorney argued that Henry is unemployed by choice, and that he’s squandered the money he should have spent on supporting his children. Henry apparently made multiple cash withdrawals in the tens of thousands of dollars that he would not account for.

The problem with arguing that Henry squandered the money is it doesn’t matter - the money is gone. It will be time consuming and expensive for Beacham to try to trace the cash withdrawals. One way this problem could have been prevented is if an annuity had been set up when the child support was originally ordered. That would have protected both parties: Beacham from having to chase after Henry for not paying child support, and Henry from spending the money that should be paid for child support. Regardless, it’s unlikely that any income Henry can earn now will be sufficient to meet his support obligations for nine children. On the upside, at least Henry is trying to deal with the issue by modifying his support obligation, instead of just not paying and letting the payments due accrue.

Madoff Scam Now Affecting Divorces

February 5th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Divorce Trends, Family Law | No Comments »

A lawyer is suing his former wife for millions he paid to buy her out of their joint Madoff investment account. Steve Simkin, a Manhattan lawyer, paid Laura Blank $2.7 million in a divorce settlement in 2006, as her share of the value of the investment account with the now infamous Bernard Madoff. Now, he wants his money back.

The AP is reporting, “Simkin, 61, says in papers filed late Tuesday in Manhattan’s state Supreme Court that he learned the account was empty, that its valuation “was a sham and a fiction,” after Madoff’s arrest Dec. 11. Simkin, of Scarsdale, N.Y., said he also learned from news accounts that Madoff, a former Nasdaq stock market chairman, confessed to his employees and to the FBI that he had committed what appears to be the biggest financial fraud in history.”

It’s doubtful Simkin will get the agreement reversed, but it has been speculated it may depend on how much money was actually invested at the time of the divorce. If Simkin left money in a bad investment, he may have to live with his decision. Clearly if the account had doubled in value he would not be offering Blank a share of the proceeds. People take these types of calculated risks all the time when they divorce - in lieu of splitting a 401K or selling a house, the person will simply give the other party the cash value of their share. Settlement Agreements are incredibly difficult to get out of. Judges are extremely leary of letting people out of a contract simply because they have “buyers remorse”. There is huge risk that allowing Simkin to set aside the agreement based on the Madoff fraud would open the flood gates and allow anyone who regrets entering into their agreement an opportunity to relitigate the matter.

Wife of Met Not Through With Him Yet

February 5th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Star Divorces | No Comments »

Kim Shamsky, wife of former “Miracle Met” Art Shamsky, chased her former husband down the street to “to remind her ex-husband she’s not through with him yet.” The NY Post is reporting Kim publicly attacked the baseball player at a New York charity event. The couple were married in 1994 and divorced 12 year later. However, Kim sued Art last year for “”physiological and emotional injuries” associated with his years of unfaithfulness. The Post quotes her as saying, “He was leading a double, triple, quadruple life.”

The Post also reports Kim Shamsky has a business and fortune of her own but insists “I have e-mails that he’s done this to other people so justice will be served when this comes out in court,” she said of the electronic paper trail she’s basing her court case on.

Taking a page out of the book of Tricia Walsh-Smith and her infamous You Tube video, Kim has taken the route of public humiliation in her efforts to seek revenge against her ex-husband. As we all know, this is usually not a successful strategy when you have a pending court case. In general judges are not huge fans of people who try to win in the court of public opinion, as opposed to on the merits of their case in a court of law. Art Shamsky will no doubt seek a restraining order against Kim to try to prevent any future public shenanigans. His attorney could also ask the court to issue a gag order to prevent Kim from going public with any more allegations, but at this point the damage may already be done.

Fifty Gets To Keep His Money

February 5th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Family Law | No Comments »

A Supreme Court judge ruled today that rapper 50 Cent will get to keep his fortune. His 11 year old son’s mother, Shaniqua Tompkins, claimed she had a verbal contract with the famous rapper, in which he promised to take care of her for the rest of her life. She estimated his fortune to be $50 million and wanted half.

According to TMZ.com, Brett Kimmel, 50 Cent’s attorney, stated “Ms. Tompkins’s claims pertaining to a $50 million verbal contract were entirely frivolous. In dismissing the case before trial, the court is sending a clear message. This is a complete and total victory for 50.” 50 himself added, “I’m very thankful for this decision. I knew that once the facts were heard that justice would prevail. I hope now that we can put this behind us and move forward with our lives.”

It’s incredibly hard for a person who is not married to make a viable claim to the property of their significant other. If 50 Cent had put property into the name of Ms. Tompkins - such as the deed on a home, or the title to a car, then she would have been able to keep that property. But making a claim to half of 50 Cent’s wealth based on a “verbal contract” was a long shot at best.

Gossip And Arrest Warrants

January 29th, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Child Support, Star Divorces | No Comments »

Page Six is reporting billionaire Steve Wynn and his wife have split. The couple have split before, divorcing in 1986 and then remarrying five years later, but rumors are the power couple have been separated for several months. According to Page Six, “The reason, the sources say, is that the 67-year-old Las Vegas billionaire has “fallen in love with a younger British woman in her late 40s. She is age-appropriate for Steve, at least. Not exactly jailbait, but still, younger than Elaine, who is 66.” Wynn, who recently opened two new hotels, is expected to be heading for tough times financially. Elaine Wynn is director of Director of Wynn Resorts, and is expected to move to their home in the Southern Highlands Golf Resort.

Also in the news, Jason Caffrey, a former NBA player, has been accused of not paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in child support and an Atlanta judge has ordered his arrest. Caffrey’s bankruptcy case was rejected in October, which gave his former wife the ability to go after the $200,000 in child support and legal fees he has failed to pay. Lorunda Brown, Caffrey’s former wife and mother of their 6 year old son, and her attorney claim they have been trying to get Caffrey’s “attention” and having an arrest warrant issued certainly could do that.

Clearly Caffrey has not been reading this blog or he would know that nothing, absolutely nothing, infuriates a judge more than a complete and total disregard for a court order. It is not uncommon, especially in this economy, for people to fall behind in their court ordered obligations, such as child support. The remedy for the party to whom the payments are due is to file a Motion For Contempt. There are two types of contempt: willfull and not willfull. Willfull contempt is the kind that will get you jail time; it means you have the ability to comply with the order, but you choosing to not do so. The other type is the kind you can’t comply with it - you can’t make the payments because you lost your job, your business has gone bankrupt, whatever. The best thing a person who is falling behind in court ordered payments to do is make a payment. Even if it’s $100, you are at least showing the court that you are trying. The next thing you have to do is get the order modified, because as long as it is in place you are obligated for the payments, and the amount owed will continue to accrue. The worst thing a person can do is just give up and not pay anything, while letting the debt continue to accrue. All this accomplishes is enraging the judge and enlarging the amount owed.

Redstone Divorce Finalized

January 23rd, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Family Law, Prenuptial Agreements, Star Divorces | No Comments »

According to the AP, Sumner Redstone’s divorce from Paula Fortunato Redstone has been finalized. The CBS and Viacom chairman filed for divorce in October, citing irreconcilable differences. The couple were married for five years.

A judge signed-off on the couple’s confidential agreement. According to USA Today, “Redstone, whose wealth was calculated at $7.6 billion in 2007, last year sold his majority stake in Midway Games and sold $233 million of his CBS Corp. and Viacom Inc. stock as he struggled to restructure $1.6 billion in debt.”

Unfortunately since the settlement agreement is confidential, we don’t know if they stuck to the terms of their prenuptial agreement or not. Under the terms of the prenup, Fortunato, a 46 year old former New York school teacher, received at least $5 million, or $1 million for every year of the marriage. Not a bad job if you can get it. I would guess that the terms of the settlement are pretty close to the terms of the prenuptial agreement, especially given the current economic climate. It’s doubtful that Redstone is worth more today than he was five years ago when they got married. And really, if you are receiving $5 million for five years of marriage, you’re doing pretty well.

Rutherford Gets Custody

January 23rd, 2009 by Hadley | Posted in Custody, Family Law, Star Divorces | No Comments »

After two days of testimony, a judge has awarded Kelly Rutherford of Gossip Girl temporary custody of her son. Rutherford, who is four months pregnant, is fighting her husband for custody in a nasty divorce battle. Her husband, German entrepreneur Daniel Giersch, claims Rutherford’s acting schedule in New York is too demanding. Giersch claims he has been the primary caregiver and wanted their son to stay in Los Angeles, while Rutherford filmed in New York through March. However, a judge ruled today, “to leave Hermes (their son) in Los Angeles with Rutherford’s estranged husband, Daniel Giersch, would be removing the child from his mother “cold turkey,” which would be harmful to Hermes,” according to People.

During the custody hearing this week, both Rutherford and Giersch made claims of abusive behavior by the other in court. Rutherford has said she is afraid of Giersch and also feared he would flee the US and take their son to Germany. Meanwhile, Giersch claims that his son is being withheld from him and he hasn’t been allowed to spend the night with him.

According to TMZ, the judge also awarded Giersch, “two overnight visits per week for the month of February and three per week for March. They all need to come back to L.A. for a minimum of four days, at least twice. During the L.A. stays, Hermes will alternate between the two parents.”

In a situation like this it appears both parties are more about control then what is in their child’s best interest. It is interesting that Rutherford is claiming she fears Giersch, yet clearly not so much that it prevented her from having another child with him since she is currently pregnant. And the same thing for Giersch - his claims of what a horrible mother Rutherford is ring hollow given the fact that he obviously didn’t think having another child with her was a bad idea. It will be interesting to see if these two can let the drama go and work out an agreement regarding custody.