Halle Berry ordered to pay $16,000 a month in child support

Remember in 2011 during Halle Berry ‘s interview with Extra, where she spoke about how she and former flame Gabriel Aubry had “happily” resolved their custody issues…well a few years later the narrative got much more heated.

Quick recap: the Oscar winning actress, and the Canadian model met and starting dating in 2005.  Nahla, their daughter was born in 2008 and the couple seemingly amicably split in spring 2010. Although an initial custody agreement was reached in 2011, things went downhill quickly during a physical altercation on Thanksgiving 2012 between Aubry and Berry's  husband, Olivier Martinez when Aubry came to Berry's home to drop off  Nahla.

 

After a lengthy court battle on May 30, 2014,  Los Angeles Superior Court ordered the now mother of two, to pay over $16,000 in child support each month to her ex, Gabriel Aubry, to provide for their now 6-year-old daughter Nahla. Although they both have equal shared custody, Berry’s payments will continue until Nahla graduates high school or reaches her 19^th birthday, whichever occurs first.

Berry has also been ordered to pay Aubry’s legal fees equaling $300,000 and $115,000 in retroactive child support.

This often leads to questions:  Why is a woman ordered to pay child support?

Answer: Child support laws are - for the most part -gender neutral.

If they have shared custody, why is she paying child support?

Answer: If there is a vast inequity in incomes, the court can - and often will - order support to balance out the child's homes.  There should not be a vast disparity between the homes.  In addition, celebrity children often need additional expenses that non-celebrity children do not.  One of these expenses might be bodyguards to protect them from the constant crush of paparazzi.  Every case is different.

In Georgia, we do not tend to see these massive support awards, but it is important to remember that equal parenting time does not always equal no child support.

Sources:  People Magazine ; CNN

Key words:

Halle Berry, Gabriel Aubry, Olivier Martinez, custody, child support, celebrity cases