Some Pennsylvania parents may empathize with the ex-girlfriend of a former NFL player who claims the man can but is not providing child support for their disabled daughter. He made millions during his five-year football career and she has had to seek legal assistance in getting him to pay the amount needed for the care their daughter’s condition requires. She has said she would not be fighting for child support payments if the girl was not medically restricted.
Because of the expenditures the child’s medical issues require, the mother is not able to afford a place to live or a car for transportation. The two are constantly moving from house to house, living in rooms provided by family and friends. She did receive several thousands of dollars for about a year and a half just after the child was born but has gotten nothing since then. The child has a rare brain defect as well as cerebral palsy and is blind.
With the money the father has made, he has opened a smoothie bar, bought a house and a car and donated thousands of dollars to a church. A forensic team hired by the mother’s attorneys found that he had given over $5 million to his parents before the daughter was born. The judge in the case says that move was an effort to shun his parental financial support duties. The judge made a ruling on a future monthly amount to be paid plus an additional monthly sum in back support.
Every child deserves to have the basic necessities provided by his or her parents and a child who has special needs requires even more. Having a parent who is able financially to provide but who chooses to not do so is unconscionable. Pennsylvania parents fighting for child support from an ex who is fiscally competent to provide may need the assistance of a professional who will work to remove the obstacles standing in their way.
Source: sportingnews.com, “Former NFL linebacker Clint Session reportedly dodging child support for special-needs daughter”, Ron Clements, July 23, 2015
