Recently in Child Support Category

In the several incarnations of the Real Housewives series, the Real Housewives of Atlanta is arguably the most popular. And it can be fairly educational, once in a while.

Season 4, Episode 6 became a prime example of “what not to do if you have child support drama.” Outspoken “housewife” Sheree Whitfield battled her ex-husband Bob Whitfield in court over child support payments, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Sheree claimed her allegedly deadbeat ex has not paid child support in years, while the former football player countered that he cannot afford the current level of payments because his income had been greatly reduced.

Trick-or-treat or "deadbeat parents" sweep?

Over the Halloween weekend, the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office conducted its targeted campaign of serving arrest warrants on individuals suspected of domestic violence and failure to pay child support, reports The Arizona Republic. And the timing of the sweep wasn't an accident.

"The knock on several people's doors won't be a child in a Halloween costume but a grown-up in a sheriff's deputy uniform with handcuffs," Sheriff Joe Arpaio said.

Former Ravens cornerback, NFL Pro Bowler and University of Arizona football star Chris McAlister is reportedly broke and would like a court to modify his child support payments, according to The Baltimore Sun.

McAlister allegedly claims in court documents obtained by celebrity gossip site TMZ that he has been unemployed since 2009, has no income and lives with his parents who provide him with basic living expenses. Due to his current financial situation, McAlister asked the court to modify his monthly $11,000 child support payments.

If you're a fugitive from the law and wanted on child support charges, it's definitely not the brightest idea to do a Facebook check-in at a restaurant in the state you decided to hide out in from authorities.

Unfortunately for 36-year-old Matthew Ledbetter, his desire to announce to his Facebook friends that he was eating at an Arizona restaurant led Chandler Police detectives straight to him on Friday, reports the Associated Press.

Ledbetter has been wanted by Oregon authorities since 2009 on allegations that he skipped out on child support payments he owed. He has a warrant for his arrest out of the Beaver State, which allowed Chandler police to arrest him and book him on a $5,000 bond.

Former NFL wide receiver, Pro Bowler, and Super Bowl-winner Andre Rison was indicted by a federal grand jury on child support charges, reports NBC Sports.

Rison is accused of failing to make more than $10,000 in child support payments that were due in August 2008. The payments were owed to a child who lived in Arizona at the time. However, since the 44-year-old now lives in Michigan, Rison’s child support case fell under federal jurisdiction.

“This indictment sends a message to others contemplating this same decision that failing to meet your financial obligation to your child is unacceptable and you will be held accountable,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Ann Birmingham Scheel said.

Gilbert parent Barry Boyd became another Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office statistic after he was arrested last week for allegedly owing more than $11,000 in court-ordered support to one of his ex-wives, reports The Arizona Republic. Boyd’s arrest is just one example of how trying to modify the terms of his court-ordered support, more commonly known as child support, could have saved him and many other Gilbert parents from going to jail.

Boyd, who has two ex-wives and six children, stated that he’s had a hard time keeping up with the court-ordered support payments since he’s been unemployed for most of the past two years. Boyd formerly worked as a construction worker, and the industry has been one of the hardest hit in the struggling Arizona economy.

The rippling effects of the economic meltdown have spread throughout the country, making it harder for average Janes and Joes to pay bills, take care of themselves, and, yes, even support families.

If you are suffering under financial stress and cannot afford to support your children at the same rate you used to, don't feel ashamed. It doesn't mean you're a deadbeat or greedy parent, just someone who may need a slight modification to ease the pain of financial hardship. However, courts do not easily modify child support arrangements, preferring to keep child support orders stable for the best interests of the child.

If you would like to modify child support payments, whether you need to lessen the cost of payments or increase the amount you receive, here are the top five reasons why courts will modify child support:

Arnold Schwarzenegger is now paying "a significant amount of child support" to his estranged wife Maria Shriver, even though he does not yet have any legal obligation to do so. According to Radar Online, neither Schwarzenegger or Shriver have officially filed for a dissolution of marriage in court, even through attorneys and various media reports have confirmed that the two are definitely splitting up. Courts will not order one party to pay child support or alimony to the other unless a divorce petition is officially filed.

Hollywood actor and “Dazed and Confused” star Jason London reportedly now pays $1,000 per month in child support to his ex-wife Charlie Spradling. However, E! Online reports that London is seeking to modify his child support obligations so that he would be paying less money per month in the future.

The actor claims that he can no longer afford the $1,000 a month payments after losing his job and having to pay a tax liability of $700 per month. In court documents, he noted that he will be receiving unemployment benefits totaling just $1,800 a month. Typically, the child support amount is about 20 percent of the non-custodial parent’s income. However, the percentage amount can be greater if payments are for more than one child.

Terry Decker is still taking a lot of heat for a crime that he committed four years ago. Senate President Russell Pearce recently appointed Decker to serve on the Arizona Child Support Committee, but some say that Decker shouldn’t be on the committee because of his criminal record and past family court drama.

KPHO reports that Decker pleaded guilty to assault and disrupting a school after he showed up to his children’s charter school and demanded to see his kids when his ex-wife had sole custody of the children. It wasn’t Decker’s day for visitation, but this didn’t stop him from throwing a punch at a teacher and yelling to see his children.