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Where parents are unable to settle their custody and support issues amicably, these problems can be litigated off and on for years after the divorce is final. One example is from a case in a state other than Michigan but the applicable legal principles are the same as here. It’s the case of Usher, the rhythm and blues Grammy-winning singing star. A few weeks back, he asked a judge to lower his child support payments.
The court had granted primary custody of the two boys last year to Usher, but he continued to pay his ex-wife Tameka Foster previously-established child support payments of $8,000 per month. In some states when one parent has more than 50 percent of the time with the children, the other parent is not entitled to a child support award. The support court may thus reduce or even eliminate the payments to the mother. If part of the order represents alimony for her, then that part of the stipend would have to remain intact because it’s separate from the child support obligation.
Prior to the support issue being heard, one of the boys almost drowned in a swimming pool at Usher’s residence. The mother went into the Fulton County, Georgia court asking for an emergency award of child custody because she said that Usher was leaving the boys unsupervised. The child got his arm stuck in a drain in the pool while retrieving a toy and his aunt couldn’t get it unstuck.
Two workers on site came to the pool and saved the boy’s life. The court held that there was no neglect; the aunt was there with the children, it happened instantaneously and was not a fault of the custodian. The court kept custody in Usher and maintained the mother’s visitation rights.
Meanwhile, the child support hearing is scheduled to be heard soon. It’s likely that the court will lower the payments based on the fact that the amount now being paid was formulated when the mother had custody. In Michigan and other states, the law will mandate a modification of a child support award where the circumstances existing at the time of the award have drastically changed.
Source: inquisitor.com, “Usher Asks Judge To Lower Child Support Payments,” Aug. 11, 2013