As mentioned in a previous post, Tom Brady has child support obligations to ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan and their child. But news and updates on the subject have been predictably absent from the press. Tom Brady has a brand to protect, and a quick and quiet resolution is definitely in his best interest. That doesn’t mean people have stopped asking questions about the resolution, though, so we put a few “what if” questions of our own to resident family law expert, Monica Mazzei:

Q: Given the situation, and the image that Brady has to protect, what would you recommend a client in Brady’s situation do?
A: I would advise Brady to voluntarily pay child support. This would be done through reaching an agreement outside of court that provides that the amount paid by Brady meets the child’s needs. Voluntarily paying child support will most likely keep Moyahan from filing for support in the court system which means that Brady’s finances will be kept out of the public record. Also, making voluntarily payments will show that Brady is responsible and help him maintain his all-American image.

Q: Tom Brady makes $10 Million a year from his NFL contract alone. What amount might Tom be ordered to pay in child support if a court ruled on the issue?
A: With an income of $10 million per year, Brady would be considered a high wage earner (meaning traditional support guidlines would not apply to him). The court would most likely base support on the needs of the child, keping in mind that the child should share the same lifestyle as the high wage earning parent. For a young child under the age of one, sharing in the lifestyle of one of the NFL’s highest paid athletes, expenses could range from $20,000 to $100,000 per month.

Q: How much might Moynahan have accepted as a volutary child support payment?
A: This is a difficult question to answer. Arguably, Moynahan would not have accepted less than the amount needed to meet the monthly needs of the child. On the other hand, Brady may have paid more than the “monthly needs” amount in an attempt to stay out of court, which is expensive, time consuming, and possibly damaging to his career.

Q: If Moynahan accepted Brady’s amount of voluntary child support, would she be able to pursue a greater amount at a later date?
A: Moynahan is never precluded from going into court at any time to ask for more support.

When celebrities are getting divorced, involved in a paternity suit or are seeking a prenup they often turn to what are recognized as the biggest celebrity divorce attorneys in Los Angeles.

The majority of big divorce, paternity, and child custody cases are kept under the radar. But when a case goes public, the high powered family lawyers handling celebrity cases can get nearly as much press as their famous clients. High net worth individuals, and celebrities in particular, need an attorney who is not only an expert in the field of family law, but who is familiar with the judges in the Los Angeles Superior Court, and who can keep their divorce out of the tabloids and as low key as possible.

What follows is a list of the top celebrity divorce attorneys in Los Angeles and some of their more famous clients:

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Travis Barker of the band Blink 182 and former Miss USA, Shana Moakler, were married in October 2004. After the parties married the couple gained popularity in their own reality show on MTV, “Meet The Barkers.” In August 2006, Barker filed for divorce, and the two were public about the fact that their relationship was not working out. In a much publicized MySpace blog, Barker accused Moakler of being an inattentive mother, caring only about partying and not parenting. Moakler, on the other hand, accused Barker of being unfaithful. In November 2006, Moakler even threw heself a “divorce party” at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Surprisingly, Barker and Moakler reconciled in March 2007 and Barker withdrew his divorce petition. However, recently it has been reported that the parties have again decided to split and Maokler has moved out of the family home. It is not known whether either party has refiled for divorce.

Many people believe that infidelity, such as Moakler accused Barker of, is relevant to a divorce proceeding. In some states it is, but in California, there is “no fault” divorce, which means that whether a spouse has been unfaithful is not relevant to the divorce and will not affect the division of property or support. So, Moakler’s accusations that Barker had an affair during the marriage will not be relevant to their divorce case.

However, Barker’s accusations that Moakler has poor parenting skills will be relvant to custody and visitation of the parties two children, Landon and Alabama. In a divorce, if the Court found that Moakler lacked sufficient parenting skills and that it was not in the best interests of the children to be in Molaker’s care the majority of time, Moakler’s visitation time could be severly limited and Barker could be granted primiary physical custody of the children.