Pennsylvania fans of the rapper Flo Rida might have heard that he is engaged in a dispute over child custody. A woman who says she and Flo Rida were together from December 2015 to January 2016 gave birth to a son in September 2016. A paternity test shows that there is a 99.99 percent chance that the rapper is the father. However, the mother says that he has never acknowledged his son, and thus she included the paternity test in court filings.
The child’s mother is asking for back child support payments. According to her, she needs assistance with medical costs because the child suffers from a buildup of fluid in the brain known as hydrocephalus.
Flo Rida was named in a previous paternity suit in 2014. That one also included a positive paternity test, and the child’s mother wanted “good fortune” child support. This is a type of child support that wealthy people may be required to pay in Florida and which is over the amount specified in state child support guidelines.
Child support is calculated based on income but may take other expenses into account. If one parent is not paying support, there are avenues for putting pressure on them, but this should not include withdrawing the parent’s visitation rights. In general, these are supposed to be separate from child support. However, if a parent does not want visitation rights or any contact with the child, this still does not exempt them from the obligation to support their child. If parents are struggling to keep up with child support payments, they can request a modification if the issue is a material change in financial circumstances such as a job loss.
Source: The Boom Box, “SMH: Flo Rida Accused of Not Paying Child Support for 7-Month-Old Baby“, Trent Fitzgerald, April 20, 2017