Reality TV star Pilar Sanders has taken her husband, former football and baseball star Deion Sanders, back to court to ask for increased child support. This move was apparently precipitated by the utilities being cut off in her home and her claim that she has no money for living expenses. An emergency request to the Supreme Court of Texas pleads for Deion to be forced to make his child support payments. Deion Sanders has opposed the motion. The family law issues raised by this case are echoed in many divorce cases currently on court dockets.
According to court documents, Deion earns more than $160,000 per month and has a net worth of $250 million. Attorneys for Sanders claim that his court-ordered monthly child support payments of $10,500 are six times the average for the state of Texas.
Deion Sanders has yet to make a child support payment, however, because the two are still battling the terms of the court order. A publicist for Pilar Sanders claimed that Deion had allowed his children to go hungry and that Pilar had yet to see any relief from the court system.
Divorces are often emotional and involve a great deal of conflict on both sides. In the case of a celebrity divorce, the tensions may run even higher due to the fact that the parties are the constant focus of media attention. For most couples, a divorce attorney works to enforce existing orders and protect the spouse and children from falling into the situation of having no support to pay living expenses. While the average divorce may not be handled on the same scale as celebrity divorces, the issues involved may be similar.
Source: Mstarz, “Pilar Sanders Battles Nasty Deion Sanders Divorce, Has Electricity Shut Off for Non-Payment, Pleads for Hefty Child Support Payments,” Danica Bellini, Oct. 10, 2012