Herschel Walker’s ‘Kiss-Off’ Child Support Agreement
Republicans have been desperate to equate Sen. Raphael Warnock’s ex-wife asking for more child support with Herschel Walker’s long and damning list of scandals. But the comparison between the two Georgia Senate candidates is even more inapt when you consider this: Walker may actually have a more troubling child support situation himself.
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The mother shared her child support agreement with The Daily Beast this week, and we shared the details with five experienced New York family lawyers. Their verdict was unanimous: The mother got a raw deal.
“This is basically a kiss-off agreement,” said Marilyn Chinitz, partner at Blank Rome.
“My concern with this agreement is that it is in my view deficient in protecting the best interest of the child. That’s what the courts are concerned with,” Chinitz explained, naming a number of those deficiencies, including the lack of any future childcare payments, college costs, or cost-of-living adjustments. “The father, who is clearly a wealthy individual, has the financial wherewithal. All this provides for in my view is a bare minimum amount of support.”
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The woman had told The Daily Beast that she in fact tried to hold a job after graduation, but was forced to move back home with a parent to afford childcare. She’s now well-established, with a successful independent business career and her own home.
“That speaks volumes to her resiliency,” Chinitz said. “It doesn’t speak volumes to the agreement. That’s an unfair burden to put on the mother. Normally in a situation like this, both parents share the responsibility—they both have access to the child and one parent relieves the other, but this mother’s childcare should have been assumed by the father.”
All attorneys mentioned the lack of any funds for education.
“There was no discussion whatsoever or provision for the child’s education,” Chinitz said. “His tutoring, testing, extracurricular activities, sports, summer programs. All are critically important, and a parent without sufficient income is going to be left in a situation where they can’t provide, while in this case, the father is wealthy and clearly has the financial means.”
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"Herschel Walker’s ‘Kiss-Off’ Child Support Agreement," by Roger Sollenberger was published in The Daily Beast on October 14, 2022.