If a California parent is unable to meet his or her obligations to financially provide for his or her children as ordered by a family law court, there are legal steps that can be taken to request a lower payment amount. What a parent may not do is stop making child support payments without the court’s permission. Not only can this lead to legal problems, it can also wind up costing even more money, as made evident by a case in another state involving R&B star R. Kelly.
Kelly has publicly stated that he doesn’t have enough money in the bank to make monthly child support payments of $21,000. The singer was sent to jail for being delinquent on his account. However, he was released after three days when someone provided $100,000 on his behalf.
Some say Kelly’s family members and friends pooled their cash to secure his release. It has also reportedly been mentioned that the money came from a fan of his. Regardless of how Kelly acquired the funds, he is now out of jail, and his attorney says they are planning to file a petition to seek modification of his current support court order.
The California court doesn’t take child support delinquency lightly. If a parent is held in contempt, he or she is likely to spend time behind bars. In the state where Kelly resides, not paying court-ordered support money is a felony crime under conviction. If a parent runs into financial problems that impede his or her ability to make timely payments, it’s always best to seek immediate guidance from an experienced family law attorney rather than try to handle things alone.