California court documents have revealed that Jesse Williams, one of the stars of the popular television drama “Grey’s Anatomy”, must increase his child support payments to $50,629 every month. He has two young children, ages 2 and 4, and had been sending his ex-wife $33,242 a month until she petitioned a court for a higher sum.
Media reports based on his court filings indicate that Williams attempted to resist the request. Within court documents, he accused his ex-wife of exaggerating expenses related to the children’s needs. He also expressed concern that she was inflating expenses for the children with her own personal expenses.
The high income recorded in court filings for Williams could have inspired the judge to rule in favor of the ex-wife’s petition. At this time, he earns roughly $521,000 each month. The new child support order imposes an annual expense on him of over $600,000.
Parental income and expenses related to raising children play primary roles in the determination of child support. When parents end a relationship, they typically negotiate a child support agreement. An attorney could represent a parent during these discussions and strive to broker an agreement that reflects the needs of children and the financial resources of the parent. When parents cannot agree on the terms, an attorney could petition a court to make a decision on the case. To support this goal, an attorney might organize financial records and request income information from the other parent. If child support goes unpaid, then an attorney could return to court and request that it take enforcement actions to collect the delinquent amounts.