When there is a divorce in Illinois and across the United States, couples with children should think about how child support will be handled. Caring and providing for children is a fundamental necessity even after a marriage has ended. The key is to ensure the best interests of the child are served. Unfortunately, there are cases where the supporting parent will fall behind in the payments or not make the payments at all. Some of these cases involve recognizable people.
The actor Charlie Sheen is being accused by his ex-wife, actress Denise Richards, of failing to pay child support. They divorced in 2006. According to Ms. Richards, Mr. Sheen owes $450,000. She says that he wasted the wealth he accrued from selling his stake in his television show, “Two and a Half Men” and failed to cover the support payments. He is also accused of shifting assets worth more than $600,000 to other family members and accumulating cash to use for himself.
The couple has two daughters age 15 and 14. Ms. Richards also has an adopted 8-year-old daughter. Mr. Sheen has two other children. Last year, Mr. Sheen stated that he could not pay the child support because of dwindling work opportunities. They did not have a prenuptial agreement when they married. Ms. Richards has since remarried.
People who are not famous performers might not relate to the child support dispute between Mr. Sheen and Ms. Richards. However, there are parallels in many legal cases regardless of the participants. When a parent is not living up to the legal requirements for raising a child and there are delinquent payments, the law does not discriminate. To address this issue, it might be beneficial to contact an experienced legal professional for help with child support enforcement.
