Former NBA star Dennis Rodman was in an Orange County court today trying to get a modification of child support payments and spousal support payments. Given the state of the economy, this is one of the most common requests our family law attorneys deal with on a daily basis. While Rodman’s case deals in some extremely large figures, the principles of his case apply to hundreds of individuals struggling to get by.

Rodman is facing 20 days in jail for falling behind on both child support and alimony payments. According to documents filed with the court, Rodman is $808,935 behind in child support payments and an additional $51,441 behind in spousal support payments. His child support attorney claims that Rodman is flat broke and is also extremely sick, and is seeking a modification of the court order.

In 2009, a court ordered Rodman to pay his ex $50,000 a month in child and spousal support. At the time he was $100,000 in arrears. Rodman’s attorney states that Rodman’s capacity to earn money has been greatly diminished since retiring from the NBA, and the former NBA champion simply has no money left and no means to earn more.

While the average individual doesn’t earn millions of dollars over the course of their career, it is quite common for a person’s financial status to change, especially in these tough economic times. What was a reasonable court order for child support or spousal support may become a financial impossibility down the road. When that happens, it is vital to seek the help of a family law attorney immediately. You need a court order to change your monthly payments. Failure to do so could land you in jail.