Athlete Disproves Paternity in Court and Avoids Paying Child Support

However, some MLB players have much more on their plate this off-season.  For example, Angels third baseman, Alberto Callaspo, recently faced a court appearance where Mariangely Santana Perez, the mother of a 4-year old boy, was warming up to hit her own home run by requesting $11,498 of monthly child support.

Callaspo, who allegedly lived with Perez and her son, despite Callaspo being married with a child of his own, denied he was the boy’s father.  Callaspo’s salary last season was $460,000, but he is destined to earn $2 million next season.  Under Illinois law, the boy’s mother could have r requested more than $24,000 a month.

The hearing, which was on November 3, carried significant financial implications for Callaspo, since it would cost him $16,096 a month of pre-tax earnings to make the requested payments.  If he succeeds in staying in the big leagues for 10 years, the total amount would exceed $1.93 million.

Fortunately for Callaspo, the court determined he was not the boy’s father after interpreting laboratory testing.

In Illinois, like most other states, child support is governed by a statutory guideline support formula designed by federal edict.  Illinois law provides that a non-custodial parent shall pay a specified percentage of their net income to the custodial parent.  Net income is determined by adding up income from all sources, then subtracting a series of statutory deductions (i.e. taxes and health insurance).  The percentage of net income paid starts at 20 percent and rises with the number of children to be supported to a maximum of 50 percent of all income.

What many people do not understand is that child support takes into consideration much more than simply examining a child’s minimum “needs.”