When Texas couples divorce and children are involved, child support is typically given to the parent who has custody of the children. It is very rare that a parent doesn’t have custody but still receives child support payments. However, that’s the situation with actor Charlie Sheen and his ex-wife, Brooke Mueller.
Sheen and Mueller were married for three years until divorcing in 2011. Mueller had custody of the couple’s children – twin boys – until she was hospitalized for a drug overdose in May 2013. While Mueller attended rehab to get her life back on track, custody actually went to Sheen’s other ex-wife, actress Denise Richards.
Now that Mueller is out of rehab, she wants to regain custody of the boys. With help from a mediator, she and Sheen made a deal outside of court. Sheen will pay her $25,000 a month in child support even though Richards still has custody.
Although this seems like a strange family law situation, there is actually a good reason behind it. Sheen doesn’t want to see Mueller struggle with financial issues while she is trying to regain her sobriety. This wouldn’t be in the children’s best interest.
Even though Mueller is receiving money from Sheen, that doesn’t leave them off the hook for supporting their children. Richards still has the children in her care, which means she should legally be receiving some sort of compensation for her time and efforts. It is hopeful that Sheen will be financially supporting not only his ex-wife, but his children as well.
Every child custody and support case is different, but this seems to be a unique case – in which an ex-spouse is the one supporting the children from another marriage. However, as long as everyone is getting the support they need to help the children thrive, then it could be a viable solution.
Source:
WYFF.com, “Charlie Sheen, Ex-Wife Make Odd Child Support Deal” No author given, Sep. 27, 2013
