Readers in the Houston area may be interested to hear that the general manager of the New York Yankees is in the news for being unfaithful to his wife again. This time the story has an interesting twist in that the other woman was allegedly blackmailing the husband, and was recently charged in criminal court with extortion of more than $6,000. This is how the media got a hold of the story, and after digging deeper, the infidelity was exposed. One day before the other woman was arrested and charged, the GM’s wife filed divorce papers.
While this story seems somewhat sensational since it involves parties with notoriety along with extortion, the basic issues this couple will face in their divorce are the same as those faced by divorcing couples in Texas.
One of the most important issues that the couple will have to address is their children — a teenage daughter and an 8-year-old son.
In her divorce filing, the wife says she is seeking joint custody. Sharing custody of the children is in the children’s best interest in most cases. This is because the children will benefit from having an ongoing relationship with both parents, allowing the parents to share equally in the children’s lives.
However, there are many details that will need to be worked out between the two parents if they are to share in the raising of their children. Included among these issues will be where the kids spend holidays and vacations, how much time they will spend with each parent, and how expenses will be shared. For instance, will the wife be entitled to child support to help with the cost of raising the children?
Though the wife is also seeking permanent alimony, this amount is meant to support her as a long-time spouse. Presumably, she gave up her own financial ambitions in order to be a wife and mother. The amount of alimony, if any, would represent an amount of money necessary to maintain the lifestyle that she had become accustomed to during their marriage, and would be considered apart from how much financial support the children will need in order to meet their needs on an ongoing basis.
Source: New York Post, “Wife of Yankees GM files for divorce after latest cheating allegations,” Liz Sadler, Jeane Macintosh and Dan Mangan,” Feb. 4, 2012
