Texas residents likely know the actor Jeremy Renner for his highly acclaimed performances in films like “The Hurt Locker” and “The Town”, but it was the 45-year-old star’s contentious divorce and not his work in front of the camera that made headlines on July 26. That was when Renner’s ex-wife went to the press claiming that her former husband owed her more than $48,000 in child support payments and had refused to pay her $1,600 per month to cover their 3-year-old daughter’s preschool tuition fees.

Renner quickly denied the allegations, which he referred to as baseless and erroneous. A representative of actor said that Renner had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to help raise his daughter and treated his child support obligations seriously. In December 2015, a family law judge ordered the actor to pay his ex-wife monthly child support of $13,000 as well as 5 percent of any annual income above $2.5 million.

The actor’s representative went on to say that preschool fees were not mentioned in the couple’s divorce settlement, and he accused Renner’s ex-wife of deliberately demeaning the star’s reputation in order to secure an even more lucrative arrangement. Renner said in a statement that he has honored his commitments and does not have the funds necessary to pay any more to his ex-wife.

This case shows how petty and acrimonious divorce can be even after judges have made their decisions and settlement documents have been signed. Experienced family law attorneys may attempt to prevent divorce proceedings from becoming contentious by working diligently to find amicable resolutions to thorny problems whenever possible. Attorneys may also suggest alternative approaches such as mediation when efforts to reach a compromise during conventional negotiations are unsuccessful.

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