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DMX Hit With Wage Garnishment for Child Support: Report

By Daniel Taylor, Esq. on June 19, 2014 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

A judge has ordered rapper DMX's royalty checks to be garnished to provide monthly child support payments to his ex-wife.

Of course DMX, aka Earl Simmons, is no stranger to the courtroom, having faced a multitude of criminal charges -- including reckless driving and sneaking drugs into prison -- as well as a number of civil lawsuits over the last five years. According to TMZ, DMX's latest legal troubles are of the family law variety, involving his ex-wife Tanesha Simmons and the couple's four children.

What much will it soon be costing DMX to support the flesh of his flesh, the blood of his blood?

Child Support and 'Other' Expenses

Although DMX's last album, 2012's "Undisputed," failed to generate the eye-popping sales figures of his earlier records, DMX is still apparently pulling in a decent monthly income off his publishing royalties.

A family court judge, however, felt that DMX wasn't properly sharing the wealth with his ex-wife Tanesha and their four children together. Tanesha Simmons was recently granted court approval to have DMX's monthly royalty checks from Universal Music Publishing garnished, to the tune of $15,000 a month: $10,000 of that monthly garnishment is for child support, with another $5,000 marked for "other" expenses, reports TMZ.

What Is Wage Garnishment?

Wage garnishment is the legal procedure through which a portion of a person's earnings are withheld by an employer to pay a debt. Under federal law, up to 60 percent of your disposable earnings can be garnished for child support, with an additional 5 percent for child support payments that are in arrears.

Wage garnishments can also be used recover spousal support, which may be the "other" expenses that TMZ is reporting. Unlike child support, which is usually mandated by a schedule of earnings, spousal support awards can be at the discretion of the judge.

Beyond wage garnishment, unpaid child support can also result in a driver's license suspension -- which, given DMX's habit of getting busted for driving without a license, is probably the last thing he needs.

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