Following a March 10 court hearing in a California court, Dean McDermott, Tori Spelling’s husband, was ordered to pay half of the child support that he owed to his ex-wife. If McDermott does not pay, his ex-wife could go back to court and have him taken to jail for contempt of court.
McDermott reportedly stopped paying child support for his 18-year-old son in October. He told the court that he had suffered some financial reversals. He was ultimately charged with contempt of court every time he missed a payment. However, those charges were ultimately dismissed. During this court date, McDermott was read his Miranda rights after he was held in contempt.
The ex-wife agreed to a deal where McDermott was required to give her half of the back child support that he owed by March 13. However, if he did not give her any money, she had the option to re-file the claim as early as the next day. This could potentially cause him to go to jail for failing to pay the child support that he owed.
The court uses a child support formula to determine how much child support a noncustodial parent should owe. If a noncustodial parent willfully refuses to pay child support, a family law attorney for the custodial parent may as the court to enforce the child support order. This may potentially be done through tax refund seizure and wage garnishments. If the parent still owes child support, the court could potentially impose a jail sentence.
Source: FOX News, “Dean McDermott may face jail time if he doesn’t pay child support“, March 10, 2017
