Professional athletes can earn substantial salaries, and basketball stars in the NBA are no exception. Former NBA star Glen Rice, who played for the University of Michigan’s Wolverines before the Miami Heat picked him up, reportedly made over $60 million in his 15-year career. Yet the 49-year-old former star recently sought a court modification to his child support payments, alleging financial struggles.
According to court records, Rice had difficulty making the $1,500 monthly child support payments under the original agreement. He had also fallen behind in payments by about $2,000. Fortunately, his former wife reportedly agreed to a lower monthly child support amount of $600.
Rice has been living off his basketball earnings since his retirement in 2004. He has also earned some income in the intervening years from basketball training camps and autograph signings. However, Rice may have been involved in several bad investments. Rice claimed in his court filings that he had suffered a permanent, substantial and material change in financial circumstances.
The story is an important reminder that parents may need a family law attorney months or even years after their divorce. Michigan family law courts apply a formula for calculating child support obligations, as found on the Michigan Judiciary’s website. Yet even that language contains a provision for deviations from the formula.
In general, a Michigan family law court considers the following child support factors: each parent’s individual income; the proposed custody and parenting time arrangement; the number of children; any special medical or child care costs; and any other factors that should be considered to avoid an unfair or inappropriate calculation. Since the formula has so many variables, an experienced attorney may be needed to help you get a fair outcome.
Source: MLive, “Report: Former Michigan, NBA star Glen Rice ‘nearly broke’,” Eric Woodyard, Sept. 21, 2016