California residents may be aware of the recent child support battle between superstar Beyoncé’s father and former manager — Mathew Knowles — and his former mistress. The couple have a three-year-old son together. The boy was apparently conceived while Knowles was still married to Beyoncé’s mother.
Recently, the former couple has been in court arguing over child support. The child’s mother claimed that Knowles owed child support for the boy. In response, however, Knowles argued that he should have payments decreased because of a decrease in his income. The court agreed with Knowles and reduced the child support from $12,000 a month to $2,485 a month.
However, Knowles did not stop there. He went on to argue that he had been overpaying child support since at least February 2013. He claimed that he should never have been paying more than $2,485 a month. Again the court agreed with Knowles and ordered that a credit be issued. The credit came to around $11,000. Therefore, Knowles does not need to pay child support for the boy for another three-and-a-half years.
Media reports now claim that the boy and his mother are receiving public assistance following the reduction. As a result, some speculate that Knowles will be required to pay some money to the boy.
In California child support modifications are possible when there has been a significant change in the circumstances. When a parent gets a new job, comes into money or has significantly larger number of assets then child support could be increased. However, a job loss, medical crisis or similar financial difficulty could trigger a decrease in the payments. Whatever the case, California parents should remember that child support is not a payment from one parent to the other, but from parent to child. Therefore, modifications should always be undertaken with the best interests of the child in mind.
Source: Atlanta BlackStar, “Beyonce’s Dad Gets to Take 3-Year Break From Paying Child Support,” Taylor Gordon, April 25, 2014
