In Georgia and elsewhere, family law issues surrounding children run the gamut from custody and visitation to child support.
While hip-hop producer and rapper Swizz Beatz is not contesting child
custody the mother of his third child, he has been involved in a child
support disagreement with her since 2008, when she gave birth to their
daughter. Beatz subsequently married Alicia Keys, with whom he has another
child. In all, the rapper has four children with four different women.
He just averted further legal action with the mother of his third child
by reaching an out-of-court settlement.
The Russian woman, who lives in London with the toddler, complained that
Swizz Beatz only paid child support sporadically. The mother and Beatz'
ex-girlfriend retained New York counsel, who brought proceedings against
Beatz in Manhattan Family Court. The lawyer was able to obtain a judgment
for back due support and was apparently ready to move forward with legal
actions to enforce the judgment. Rather than risk wage garnishment or
even attachment of his bank accounts, the rapper paid everything, including
the mother's $42,000 legal fee.
Some custodial parents find the court process confronting them in their
quest to obtain child support daunting. In addition to the maze of family
law statutes and procedures, they often discover that getting an award
of child support is not the same thing as receiving the payments. When
payments fall in arrears, or when a noncustodial parent simply ignores
the obligation, a Georgia attorney may help get the legal matter back on track.