Teen Mom 2 dad Adam Lind has often stated that he feels unjustly chastised for his actions over the years — including his lengthy criminal history, a horrendous driving record that includes several DUIs and a fiery crash, and most recently, inviting a registered sex offender along to an outing with his daughters Aubree and Paislee. And since Adam feels as though MTV producers are not interested in sharing his side of the story, he often defends himself on social media — which is exactly what he did recently after people questioned his claims to have shared custody of his two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Paislee.
“Been brought to my attention more than once now on how I don’t have any ‘custody’ of my lil Paislee Mae,” Adam wrote on Instagram, along with the photo below. “Feel free to read the legal binding terms Taylor and I both agreed and signed off on … Take note its says ‘CUSTODY’ …. then right after it states the visitation … And as in visitation meaning the times and places we agreed on picking her up and dropping her off.”
I should point out that the document states Adam and Taylor Halbur have “joint legal custody,” which is not the same thing as joint physical custody. The document further states that Taylor has primary physical custody, but doesn’t include Adam and Taylor’s actual physical custody agreement, which is believed to be the usual every-other-weekend deal for Adam.
“Now let’s kick this up a notch,” Adam continues. “My lawyer has faxed over this exact same paper work to Chelseas lawyer (which is also the same lawyer Taylor has … Ya they “buddied” up to go against me) All I asked Chelsea was that I have the same time with Aubree as I do Paislee … Makes it easy for everyone … I pick up Paislee I pick up Aubree… I drop off Paislee I dropped off Aubree same times and dates for both children … Doesn’t seem like much to ask now for sisters to spend time together with their daddy at his own home.”
As you may have guessed, the custody proposal did not go over well with Chelsea. Adam then goes on to criticize Chelsea and Taylor for lawyering up as opposed to handling things directly and less expensively. “Instead of just agreeing on some shared custody they feel its necessary to blow 1000s of dollars on lawyers fees to battle each other back and forth in court,” he writes. “Seems like the logical thing to do right when both Taylor and Chelsea filled for more child support meaning they feel they need more $$ for the kids … But wait …. Seems like they had plenty of $$ laying around for the 5000$ retainer fee ….weird huh.”
I believe there is a common misconception about how child support works as far as the amount that is required to be paid. (I confess I wasn’t clear about it.) The amount is not based on the need of the parent with primary custody; it is based on a percentage of the income of the parent without primary custody. That’s why you see these stories about celebrities being ordered to pay tens of thousands of dollars a month in child support.
You may not agree with that in principal, but that is the reality. And it is also a reality that Adam Lind makes a lot of money for being on Teen Mom 2. (It is estimated to be over $200,000.) So yes, Chelsea Houska (who reportedly made approximately $250,000 for the current season) is not in dire need of extra money, but the fact of Adam’s income means he should be paying more than the minimum $170 a month that he is reportedly paying now.
Here’s how Chelsea’s dad Dr. Randy Houska addressed Adam’s complaints when the two got into it on social media last month:
Child support isn’t set by Chelsea, it is set by income. Been paying $170/mo for 6 years, same as an unemployed dad. Court ordered to pay medical insurance since Aubree was born. Never.Paid.Once. Child support hearing? No show, then whine about ruling.
I know that having to pay a lot more to Chelsea is a hard pill to swallow for Adam–especially when he has so many expensive vehicles to take care of–but that is how child support works in this country. Also, it seems clear to me by his attitude on the whole thing that Chelsea and Taylor NEED to have an attorney in order to get anything done.
Adam really does seem to be doing a great job of getting his life on track, so props to him on that! I will be curious to see what happens if he actually follows through on quitting the show, as he announced in March. He says he wants “to be known for bodybuilding and fitness,” but I can’t imagine that is a very viable way to pay the bills for most people. I suppose we will see.
Meanwhile, here is an update on one of Adam’s Corvettes, which looks to be doing well:
