Rapper 50 Cent is seeking a modification of the order which required him to pay $25,000 as child support for his son. According to ABC News, the mother says this amount is inadequate, particularly since 50 Cent earned $33 million last year.
Child support is calculated as a percentage of income. Problems arise when the non-custodial parent’s income is so large that the calculation results in absurd amount of child support.
In New York, the child support guidelines are to be applied to the parents’ combined income up to $80,000. The court has discretion to apply the guideline percentage to the income in excess of $80,000. The real question becomes, at what point should the guidelines cease to be applied? Should, for instance, the guidelines be applied to all of 50 Cent’s $33 million annual income?
As the Maryland Family Law Blog points out, there is a presumption that parents who earn more, spend more on their children.
While 50 Cent’s obligation to pay $300,000 per year as child support seems, at first blush, exorbitant, consideration has to be given to the lifestyle the child would have enjoyed if he lived with his father. 50 Cent reportedly came to court in an armored SUV equipped with a satellite dish. Shouldn’t the child be able to enjoy some of the luxuries and the lifestyle commensurate with his father’s income and lifestyle?
