Elon Musk is fighting to keep his paternal rights case against Grimes in Texas to protect his financial interests, an experienced family law attorney tells Pvnew exclusively.
“No doubt Musk filed in Texas in order to get a better deal on child support than he would get in California,” lawyer Stephanie I. Blum tells us.
“Texas law places a cap on the amount of child support the higher earner has to pay regardless of their wealth.”
Musk quietly sued Grimes in Texas on Sept. 13 and just days later she retaliated with her own lawsuit in California.
The X owner previously claimed in court documents that his ex was “attempting to circumvent the jurisdiction” of the Lone Star state by claiming her residence was in the West Coast.
He argued that he had had taken “actual care, control, and possession” of each of their three kids, noting that the care had taken place in Texas for at least “six consecutive months.”
Grimes requested physical custody of their sons X Æ A-Xii, 3, and Tau Techno Mechanicus,1, and daughter Exa Dark Sideræl, also 1, and a “standard restraining order” that would prevent either she or Musk from moving them out of California.
“It will make a significant difference to Musk and Grimes if they duke it out in California or Texas,” Blum adds.”If the California family court is found to have jurisdiction over child support issues, because of how wealthy Elon Musk is, the fight will become about the reasonable needs of the children.
“That is a fight that comes with a lot of legal fees and a big dollar amount that he would be ordered to pay in child support at the end of it.”
The Los Angeles-based lawyer, who is a partner at Reuben Raucher & Blum, explains that if Grimes wins the right to fight their case in California, Musk “would likely be on the hook” for her attorneys’ fees, as well.
Musk has an estimated net worth of 241.1 billion, according to Forbes.
California-based family law attorney Alphonse Provinziano explains to Pvnew exclusively why the Tesla founder would be responsible for a hefty sum of money in child support in the Golden State, noting that the courts use a “guideline child support calculator” that factors in “custody and income.”
“If we assume that Grimes has zero income and rely on Paywizard.org for Musk’s monthly income, which it calculates at $8.3 billion per month, then California’s baseline would be $702 million per month,” he says.
“It’s likely that the court would reduce that as an excessive amount, but it’s obvious that he would end up paying a lot in California.”
The certified family specialist at Provinziano & Associates explains that courts in Texas and California will now have to duke it out via a conference to decide which one has jurisdiction over this case.
However, he notes that there may be a “split decision,” in which Texas has jurisdiction for X — since he resides with Musk — and California rules over the other two children.
“This may be resolved by a trial and possible appeal,” Provinziano tells us. “This will only put the children at peril because they may not receive court order support pending this litigation and will be in limbo until it’s decided.”
He concludes, “Given the amount of money involved in this case, both parties will have every reason to pursue this case until all their legal options are exhausted.”
According to Business Insider, Musk, 52, filed an amended petition in Texas on Monday to reiterate that X has been with him in Texas and that Grimes and the other two children also lived there for six consecutive months, making it their home state.
In October, the “Genesis” singer, 35, asked for Musk’s “inappropriate” lawsuit to be tossed out, claiming that even the SpaceX founder “had and continues to have no continuing, systematic or minimum contacts with Texas” because he is allegedly in the West Coast two to three days a week.
She also claimed she had been living in California with two of her children since December 2022.
