When couples split, whether they were married or not, child custody and child support are often issues. It isn’t unheard to for couples to battle for years over who gets how much parenting time and how much child support money should be transferred from one to the other. Typically, those conflicts only make the news if they involve someone rich, famous or both, like in the case of a champion skier who is no longer involved with the mother of his 13-month-old son.
The two have haggled about custody of the boy, and child support matters continue to be contentious in the case. The mother recently returned to court claiming that she has not received any child support. According to her attorney, the skier father of the boy has not paid the mother a single dime.
The father, through his attorney, denies this accusation. His attorney says that child support matters are still pending in California, the father’s home state. Their custody battle is being worked out in Manhattan by order of a Family Court judge there. The case is making headlines because the father gained notoriety by winning a bronze medal in Sochi, Russia, at the 2014 Winter Olympics. The mother is an ex-U.S. Marine.
The two have been public about their custody battle. Indeed, the mother wrote a long essay for Cosmopolitan.com about it. In that essay, she expressed that she found it difficult to be away from their son, as the father undoubtedly does as well.
Cases where child support is at issue can happen with divorced or never-married couples, like in this case. Illinois sees its share of both kinds of cases. Regardless of the past relationship status, anyone facing these issues can benefit from the advice of an experienced attorney.
Source: New York Post, “Bode Miller hasn’t paid ‘a dime’ of child support: lawyer” Rebecca Rosenberg and Josh Saul, Mar. 31, 2014
