Connecticut Family Lawyer
posted in Child Support
on Thursday, June 7, 2012.
Few parents in Stamford, Connecticut, owe as much as former NBA star Dennis Rodman reportedly does in back child support. According to attorneys for his ex-wife, the man owes more than $800,000. He was charged with four counts of contempt of court for failing to pay child support for his two children, ages 10 and 11.
Last year, he was found guilty of those four charges and was recently sentenced by a judge in another state. The 51-year-old Rodman will perform 104 hours of community service and will serve three years of informal probation on the condition that he continues to pay both child and spousal support.
The couple married in 2003, and Rodman’s wife filed for divorce a year later. In addition to the charges of contempt that he was found guilty of last year, there are still others stemming from the massive amount of support he allegedly owes.
Rodman’s lawyer reported that he does not owe as much as his former wife and her legal team suggest. His four contempt convictions came from a time when he was required to pay $50,000 a month in child support. Now that requirement is much lower, reduced to $4,500 for both child and spousal support, which Rodman’s attorney says he is current on.
Rodman said that he will be performing community service in any way that he can. The judge suggested that he work with at-risk teens, using his reputation to motivate children.
Being ordered to pay $50,000 a month can be high for anyone. Rodman certainly had a right to try and get the amount modified. It’s important that he’s making a good-faith effort now to stay current on his payments. But on the other hand, his ex-wife has a right to try and collect what a judge ordered she should.
Source: Cleveland.com, “Dennis Rodman sentenced in child support case,” May 29, 2012
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