Former baseball player owes thousands in child support

Former baseball player owes thousands in child support

Recently, former Major League baseball player Danny Tartabull, who played for teams such as the Seattle Mariners, Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees, has been named on a list of Los Angeles County’s “most wanted” for past-due child support payments. Tartabull owes more than $276,000 in back child support for his two sons, placing him at the very top of Los Angeles County’s most wanted list for unpaid child support. Tartabull had previously pled no contest to not supporting his sons in 2011, and after failing to comply with the terms and conditions of his probation, was sentenced to 180 days in jail. Tartabull failed to appear for a court date, and has been a fugitive ever since.

Child support payments are typically a contentious issue in divorces, especially when the divorce is not amicable, or one parent is indigent and cannot make the payments. However, in cases such as this one where money theoretically should not be an issue, one spouse may neglect to make payments out of spite for the other spouse or a lack of concern over the children. The people most hurt by this state of affairs are the children, making situations like these truly sad.

Courts in Illinois, California, and elsewhere will typically award child support to the party most in need of it, which is usually the party who has primary care and custody of the hcld. Courts will typically look to an equitable and fair system of payment for alimony and child support, based on the income levels of the divorcing spouses and the ability of the spouses to provide for the children. The court also may consider other expenses of the parties for the children, such as medical expenses, health insurance premiums and child care expenses.

Spouses in a divorce can make things simpler by hammering out an agreement between them regarding child support payments or making modifications to the agreement as circumstances change. Cooperating together to create a plan for child support payments spares both parties the strife and the pain of an acrimonious battle, and it spares the children the hardship of dealing with the parents battling. Both parties in a divorce have the option to make arrangements for a child support plan and to make their divorce as emotionally painless as possible.

Source: NBC Los Angeles, “Ex-Major League Baseball player tops child support ‘most wanted’ list,” Dan Stamm, July 12, 2013