Bartolo Colon, the pitcher for the New York Mets, reached a settlement agreement with his ex-girlfriend in the child support case she filed against him. Colon, who has been married for longer than 20 years to his wife, has two children with his ex-girlfriend who are ages 7 and 8.
The pair negotiated for much of the day on June 17 before finally reaching an agreement in Manhattan Supreme Court around 3:30 p.m. An associate of Colon’s told reporters that Colon had always paid his required support for his children.
Colon’s ex-girlfriend had filed a lawsuit against him in 2015 asking the court to increase the amount of support he pays for his children. He will earn in excess of $7 million this year from the Mets. The details of the agreement were not released, and there is no information about the amount of support he was previously required to pay.
Child support amounts are based on state guidelines that take into account a variety of factors, including the gross incomes of both of the child’s parents minus certain deductions such as alimony. The guidelines also look at the number of children for which the parents are responsible. When the parental income of the noncustodial parent increases, the custodial parent may file a motion to modify the original ordered amount. Courts often will grant such requests if the change in income or circumstances is substantial. A custodial parent may want to get advice from a family law attorney about seeking a child support modification when circumstances so dictate.
Source: News New York, “Mets’ Bartolo Colon and his baby mama reach deal in child support battle,” Barbara Ross, Dareh Gregorian, June 17, 2016