This week, the former wife of Dennis Rodman said that the former NBA player continues to fail to pay her child support and that his delinquency has caused her to be evicted, twice.

Michelle Rodman says that the basketball player owes her more than $500,000 for their son D.J. and their daughter, Trinity.  She said that he has yet to keep up with the $50,000 a month payments that he was ordered to make.

Recently, Michelle filed papers in Orange County Superior Court that report Rodman's failure to pay.  She said that he failed to pay her rent twice since 2009, resulting in two evictions. 

Rodman's legal team say that the former NBA player will start to pay Michelle's rent once she moves into a less expensive property.  They also allege that Michelle is living outside of her means.  Rodman had his child support payments increased in March, but has been trying to get them lowered because he cannot afford them.

If you need assistance with a child support related matter, contact our law office to speak with a Los Angeles family lawyer.

Is Child Support and/or Spousal Support (Alimony)Automatically Modified if I Become Unemployed?

A child support and or a spousal support (alimony) order is not automatically modified if you lose your job.  That's why it's important that you obtain amodification of your current Court order.  This can be accomplished with a Stipulation (an agreement with the other party) or by filing a request to modify the order with the Court.  It is important to file your request right away so the Court has the ability to make the order retroactive; the Court can only make the order retroactive to the date of filing, not the date you lost your job.  Contact Claery & Green, LLP today and speak with an attorney about modifying your child support or spousal support today!


Nicole Negron
Attorney at Law
Claery & Green, LLP

Child custody has a large bearing on how child support is determined in a divorce settlement. In California, both parents are financially responsible for their child. When full custody is granted to one parent, that parent is considered the custodial parent, and their financial obligation is considered fulfilled.

The non-custodial parent is typically required to pay child support to the custodial parent in order to fulfill their financial obligation, and the amount of child support to be paid is determined by the percentage that each parent contributed to the couple's joint income during their marriage. When custody is split, who pays child support is determined by income during the marriage and also the percentage of time each parent has physical custody of the child.

Typically, the parent who pays child support is required to do so until the child turns eighteen, begins active military duty, or is emancipated by a court. Child support also ends if parental rights are terminated through adoption.

If you have questions about child support in California, take the time to speak with Los Angeles family lawyer by contacting Claery & Green today!

Former lead singer of New Edition, Bobby Brown appears to have finally ended a ten year long child support battle with his ex and mother of his two children, Kim Ward. Brown has been jailed several times over the last decade for failing to make child support payments to Ward regarding their children, LaPrincia, 20, and Bobby Jr., 19.

Brown was required to make payments of $5,500 a month to Ward, but recently filed paperwork claiming that he could not keep up with the payments because he has no job. Apparently Brown's legal team has reached an agreement with Ward that resolved all outstanding payment matters.

Patrick McDermott told the Boston Herald, "The big issue was college expenses and how to handle those going forward. But it was quick and uneventful, and they seem to have wrapped up all the outstanding matters."

If your ex is failing to make child support payments, talk to a Los Angeles family law attorney to determine the best course of legal action.  Contact Claery & Green now!

Top-ranked golfer Tiger Woods and his estranged wife Elin Nordegren are getting closer to finalizing their divorce. Both parties have agreed to the major terms of their divorce, and the proceedings have been kept very quiet. It has been reported, however, that Woods will have to pay out over $750 million to Nordegren when all is said and done.

There was suspicion that Woods had fathered a child with porn star Devon James after a fling the two had in 2001 according to James, but those rumors have now been quelled. The paternity of James' son was determined with 99.9% accuracy to be a man named Pele Watkins. Watkins' paternity of the porn star's son was determined through DNA testing back in 2002, and yet James, real name Melinda Brinling, began legal proceedings last month to determine if Woods was the same child's father.

If you live in California and the time has come to end your marriage, or if you have another family law matter to discuss such as paternity or child support, contact Claery & Green to speak with a Los Angeles divorce lawyer today.

Family law encompasses a wide variety of legal issues such as: child custody, support payments, divorce, domestic partnerships and restraining orders. As a family law attorney you are called upon to act on behalf of your client during what is often one the most troublesome times in their life. The stakes and emotions are extremely high and your rights must be protected.  

That is why my number one objective is to be a zealous advocate for my clients' rights. As a zealous advocate, it is my job to effectively communicate with my clients to develop the important facts, apprise them of the law, and keep them continuously updated about the status of their case. As a zealous advocate, I am ready to fight for my clients' rights until the very end.

The family law court system can be very frustrating. If you or a loved one is involved in the system, you need a zealous advocate to help you fight your way through.    

Kyle Puro, Attorney at Law
Claery & Green, LLP

According to paperwork filed in a Southern California court on May 17, Jesse Jame's former wife, Janine Lindemulder is asking for joint child custody of the couple's daughter, Sunny James, as well as child support and attorney's fees.

Lindemulder, a former porn star, has asked a court judge to force James to help her as she relocates from Oregon to Southern California and give her a 50-50 custody split of their child. The mother claims that she is currently working for Campus Marketing Specialists making $8.50 an hour. She claims that she brings in $1,170 a month from her job in addition to an average of $1,610 in royalties from her pornographic films and web content. She is currently married to Jeremy Aikman, 32, who reportedly earns $500 a month, and Lindemulder claims that she currently lives in a halfway house.

If you're facing an ugly custody battle, a Los Angeles family lawyer Claery & Green can help you. We'll work hard to ensure that your rights as a parent are protected.  Contact us now!

A legal action brought to determine a parent-child relationship is known as a paternity action. A paternity action will result in a court decree establishing the relationship and ordering custody, support, and/or visitation of the child involved as necessary. Such an action may be brought at any point after conception, even before the child is born in order to obtain help paying for pregnancy and birth-related expenses.

If paternity is admitted, then an agreement to that effect is drawn up and signed by both parents, but if paternity is denied, then the father can be ordered by the court to take a paternity test. The paternity test generally admitted by California courts is the HLA tissue test. This test involves taking blood samples from both parents and matching genetic factors to the child's blood. Results are highly accurate and are typically accepted by the courts.

Issues of custody, support, and visitation are resolved after paternity is established. If a written agreement cannot be reached by both parents, then the court will make the necessary orders.

If you are facing paternity or other family law issues, talk with Los Angeles family law attorney who can help you weigh your legal options by contacting Claery & Green!

Actor Jon Cryer has been engaged in a bitter legal battle over child support payments to his ex-wife, Sarah Trigger. However, Cryer's battle appears to be over.

The actor was required to pay Trigger $8,000 monthly in support costs, despite Cryer having primary custody of the former couple's nine-year-old son, Charlie. Cryer went to court to request that his monthly payments be dismissed.

The case was settled at a hearing earlier this month, and the outcome was sealed by the presiding judge. However, Trigger's lawyer told TMZ.com, "We're relieved it's over." Trigger and Cryer divorced in 2004 after five years of marriage.

Cryer currently stars in the popular sitcom, Two and a Half Men.

Claery & Green understands how difficult divorce can be, particularly when children get drawn into the proceedings. If you are facing a custody or child support battle, contact a Los Angeles family lawyer who can help you get through this difficult time.

Rapper and reality TV star Flavor Flav is more than $63,000 behind in his child support obligations, according to the New York Post.

Flavor Flav, whose real name is William Jonathan Drayton, Jr., owes $63,458 to Mary Parker, the mother of three of his children.

In July 2008, Parker filed to amend their original child support agreement since it only covered two of their children. This January she won an appeal to increase Flav’s payments from $117 to $837.72 per week. In the appeal the judge also ordered Flav to pay for the children’s tuition.

Flav said he has been paying for the children’s tuition, and that he's been making direct payments to Parker outside of the child support order.

This is not the first time Flav has been accused of failing to pay child support. Recently his daughter claimed he hadn’t been making payments, as did Karen Ross-Fortunate, another woman who has three children with Flav. Flav has seven children in total.

At Claery & Green we handle all types of child support cases, and are here to help you achieve your legal objections. Whether your goal is to obtain child support, find a way to catch up on your child support debt, or seek a modification of your child support arrangement, you can rest assured a knowledgeable and experienced Los Angeles family law attorney at Claery & Green will be there every step of the way. Please take a moment to contact the office at (310) 362-2273 to arrange a consultation with an attorney today.

Child support guidelines were created to ensure parents pay an amount that is within in their means while at the same time provides their children with the support they need to continue enjoying the same standard of living they had while their parents were married. The amount a parent pays is not universal, but rather is based on the parents’ levels of income and the number of children in need of support.

After a divorce, circumstances sometimes change and a parent may need to change or modify the child support order in response to those changes. Judges are supposed to grant a modification if the parent can prove he or she experienced a significant change in circumstances, such as an unexpected job loss or medical emergency.

While this is supposed to happen, often it does not, much to the frustration of the parent needing the modification. This situation happened to Anthony Fernandez, a Nevada man who was ordered to pay $80,000 a year in child support while earning $500,000 to $4 million a year in the stock market. After the economy soured and the stock market crashed, Fernandez took a job as a car salesmen, where he brings home roughly $3,000 a month.

Obviously unable to keep up with his child support obligations, Fernandez asked the Nevada Supreme Court to grant him a modification, but the court said his case must be heard by the district court. If the lower does not grant Fernandez a modification and lower his child support obligations, it will be nearly impossible for him to continue making payments. How the court expects a man making $36,000 a year to pay $80,000 in child support is beyond reason.

It’s natural for a divorced couple’s circumstances to change after their divorce has been finalized. Depending on the change in circumstances, it may be necessary for one or both parties to change or modify a court order. Judges understand that people’s circumstances change, and are usually willing to modify an order as long it does not compromise the best interest of any children and the changes in circumstances are “significant.” For example, seeking a modification of a child support order after quitting your job is not likely to going to happen. However, if you show that you've been laid off and have been diligently looking for a new job but just haven't had any luck, the judge is more likely to lower your child support obligations.

At Claery & Green, we have experience representing clients throughout Southern California in all areas of family law, including post-judgment modifications. Whether you want to modify a  child support order, a child custody order, an  alimony order, or some type of marital contract or settlement agreement, an experienced Los Angeles divorce attorney at our office can assist you in filing the necessary paperwork and argue your case before the judge. Furthermore, we can also help you gather the documents and evidence that prove you have indeed experienced a significant change in circumstances, which might include a sudden job loss, physical injury or disability, family emergency, relocation, etc.

For more information about post-judgment modifications, please contact a Los Angeles family law attorney at Claery & Green today!