Coming to an agreement on child support during a child custody case can often be a difficult and stressful matter, as many divorced or divorcing Pennsylvania couples may know firsthand. This is especially so when there are harsh feelings between the parents or other parties involved such as new spouses. These child support agreements often come late, after much debating in and out of court, and may stand to further stress relationships among a separated family.
Supermodel Linda Evangelista and her son’s father have been appearing in the news as of late with precisely this issue. Though they had not been married, the father, who knew he was the boy’s father in 2007 and recognized he was the boy’s father in 2009, is still responsible for supporting his son should Evangelista request or require it. However, a few things have been working against both sides of this pair throughout their settlement.
Evangelista doesn’t appear to have made any significant request for support payments until several years after the child was born, and even years after the father recognized that he was the father. Additionally, it is said that among Evangelista’s requests are things that would benefit her significantly as well, or even more than, her son.
Complicating things on the father’s side, it is alleged that he treats his children with his current wife much better than he treats his son with Evangelista, spending more money on gifts now and on setting things up for their future than he does for his son.
The situation of settling child support in the case of a divorce is different in the way that the father more than likely has acknowledged his fatherhood from the birth of the child and has spent at least some time already assuming his role as father in the child’s life. Still, these sort of stressed child support debates can and often do occur in Pennsylvania. For the sake of the child or children involved, it is often most beneficial that parents seek to settle these matters of child support as soon and as civilly as possible.
Source: ABC News, “Linda Evangelista Settles Child Custody Case,” Luchina Fisher, May 7, 2012
