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Former TV actor ordered to make hefty spousal support payments

On Behalf of | Jul 25, 2014 | Spousal Support

Going through divorce is always a trying time for everyone involved. Divorces are events with the potential to permanently alter the path of a person’s life. Naturally, some people find these experiences more difficult to deal with than others. For one man, the emotional trauma of divorce may have proved too much for him to handle at a Dallas, Texas, bar.

Celebrity media reporters at TMZ say that actor Columbus Short was arrested over the Fourth of July weekend for public intoxication. Short is probably best known for his performance and abrupt termination from the television show Scandal. According to witnesses at the scene, Short fought relentlessly with bouncers at the Katy Trail Ice House after they stopped him for attempting to leave without paying off his bar tab. According to reports, Short had been in the bar for at least four hours on July 4 where he allegedly engaged in a bout of binge drinking.

Apparently, Short and a bouncer got into a scuffle which drew the attention of some off-duty Dallas, Texas, police officers. The officers broke up the fight but Short refused to relent. He was arrested for public intoxication and removed from the premises.

Short’s arrest comes on the heels of his well-publicized split from his 33-year-old estranged wife. The pair had been married since 2005 until Short’s wife filed for divorce citing irreconcilable differences. TMZ has reported that a court ordered Short to make spousal support payments of $17,005 per month to his ex-wife. Additionally, Short must also pay for his ex-wife’s attorney’s fees, and child support for his 2-year-old daughter in the amount of $4,542 per month.

Spousal support, also known as alimony, is money one spouse is ordered to pay to another following a divorce. Texas is known as a no-fault divorce state. That means that either party can file for divorce without having to show grounds to justify why the couple should be divorced. Some people are under the wrong impression that because Texas does not assign fault to a particular spouse that courts do not consider marital misconduct. That is not the case. Courts routinely examine all circumstances when forming a determination regarding spousal support. That is why it is so critical to present a clear and compelling case whether seeking spousal support or defending against it.

Source: The Daily Mail, “Ex-Scandal star Columbus Short ‘arrested for public intoxication after July 4 brawl in Dallas bar’” Jul. 05, 2014

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