Update: Simmons’ settle child custody issues
Update: Russell Simmons has released a statement outlining the details of the custody agreement. Read what he has to say in the extended post.
Updated 10:45 a.m.: People.com reports that Kimora Lee Simmons has been granted sole custody of the couple’s children, with Russell getting the girls one of every eight weeks, plus extra time around the holidays and in the summer months. According to legal documents obtained by The Insider, he is also required to buy or lease a car valued at $60,000 or more for his daughters every 24 months. The custody agreement lasts until the girls are 19 ½, or until they become emancipated, married, self-supporting, join the armed forces or move out of their mother’s home.
Originally posted 9:30 a.m.: Gossip site TMZ.com obtained official court documents on Wednesday revealing the details of hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons‘ child support agreement with former wife Kimora Lee Simmons. Russell, 50, will be paying $20,000 per month for each daughter — Ming Lee, 8 ½, and Aoki Lee, 5 ½ — a grand total of $480,000 annually. Ming’s payments will continue through 2019, while Aoki’s will end in 2022.
Baby Phat CEO and former model Kimora, 33, filed for divorce in March after nine years of marriage. The couple remain friends, though Kimora has asked for primary custody of the girls, allowing Russell "reasonable child visitation … accompanied at all times by the children’s nanny and security personnel." The girls and their mother currently live in Los Angeles.
Sources: TMZ.com, People.com, The Insider, Perez Hilton; Photo by Williamson/WireImage.
Friends of mine have forwarded me gossip online about my custody agreement details with Kimora.The fact is, we’ve had a pretty good partnership at sharing the girlsin the past. There have been a few bumps in the road, and those bumpshave led us to negotiate a minimum amount of time I’m guaranteed to seemy kids. That deal is as follows: I have the girls one full week out ofevery eight, half of the summer, half of all the holidays, a full weekat Christmas, and half of Spring Break. Like in all good partnerships,contracts are meant to protect the partners but are usually not theonly way the partners work together. If I show up in L.A., where shenow lives, unannounced, I can call up Kimora and she will most likelysend them right over. The same goes for when she comes to New York. Wehave always had a school in New York and a school with the samecurriculum in L.A., so when the girls are with me in New York, we canspend quality time together. I can get up with them, take them toschool and just be together.
Kimora consults with me about doctors or schools for the girls, butshe’s always had final say in those areas. If we had an argument abouta school, guess who’s going to win? But there are other stipulations inour agreement where we have to make final decisions together. Anythinghaving to do with business decisions pertaining to my kids cannot bedone without my consent.
I’ve also seen a lot about people reading into the supervised visitsstipulation. Kimora travels with a security guard and a nanny. In thepast, she’s gotten really nervous that I never travel with security, soif it makes her more comfortable to have her security and a nanny withus when I’m with my kids, that’s OK with me.
Finally, I want to say Kimora is a excellent mother and is doing agreat job with them. My kids are studying a couple of foreignlanguages, they travel around the world, they practice yoga, ballet,swimming, karate and piano, among other things…sometimes I think theydo too much, but I trust in Kimora on this because she IS a goodmother. Regarding the money, my kids live a tremendous life. They dohave lots of security, nannies, educators, special programs, travel,chefs, on and on. Their mother manages all of those luxuries and I’mhappy to provide for that.
With great love all things are possible.
-Russell Simmons
- Posted on Jun 27, 08 at 10:15AM
- Permalink
- 41 Comments
June 27th, 2008 at 8:42 am
“reasonable child visitation … accompanied at all times by the children’s nanny and security personnel.” Wow, that’s a slap in the face! Why can’t the father have time with his kids without security or nannies overseeing everything? And as far as I know he is a great father and they get along well. I wouldn’t sign to that. No way! Who knows…maybe he wants the nannies there to help, but that is still messed up IMHO that they have to be there “at all times”. You would think he’s a criminal.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Becky- I surprised by the line too. They do seem to get along very well and he seems to be a good father. I don’t get the impression that it would be an unhealthy situation or there would be some risk to their nannies and security personnel not being there. I don’t know if it’s because he’s got such a busy work schedule that she’s worried he’d get engrossed in something and not keep a good eye on the kids? Hmmm.. who knows but yeah it surprised me too.
I have no clue what I would do with that much money!! A child does not need $20,000 a month. She’s not allowed to save it? I guess her bills are like a million times larger than mine so maybe it’s easier to spend that kind of money to support the kids? *Shaking head* I don’t know?
June 27th, 2008 at 9:09 am
I was thinking the same thing?!!
June 27th, 2008 at 9:10 am
I agree with Becky. For a judge to agree with”reasonable child visitation … accompanied at all times by the children’s nanny and security personnel.” usually means that something is up. It all sounds suspicious to me.
As for your questions of What would you do or buy for your children with $20,000 per month, given that you couldn’t save the funds or donate to charity?
I don’t have an answer for that given that my two options aren’t an option for an answer. It sounds like a ridiculous amount of money so I guess I would enroll them in a top private school and stuff the rest in their mattress to make them comfortable?
June 27th, 2008 at 9:16 am
The whole tone of this post offends me. Kids “sitting pretty” from child support? The intent of child support is to pay for reasonable expenses for the child, not to have them “sitting pretty”. Then asking “what would you do with the money if you couldn’t spend it all?” Let’s not glamorize the child support system– the system is NOT designed to make kids and custodial parents rich.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:19 am
I would never dream of having that amount of money a month for my children. That is absolutely ridiculous. All children need is food, clothing, shelter, and love. And you can provide that for much less. My husband and I make a fraction of that amount and we provide just fine for our kids. We clothe them, feed them 3 well-rounded meals a day, plus snacks. They have a nice roof over their heads. They get toys for birthdays and Christmas. They earn money that they put in savings by doing yard work and things around the house.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:33 am
It would be 20 each so that’s 40 per month!! Plus, Mom has her own business.
You can’t save the money?
The way we live I wouldn’t be able to spend it all but I assume the per month expenses she’s shown total something along the lines of $40,000 per month.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:37 am
I found it interesting that on People.com they’re saying that Russell Simmons gets the girls one week out of every eight, plus extra time for summer vacations and holidays.
He seems like a good father but then again I dont know them or their situation so maybe I’m missing something. I just find that strange. I cant imagine spending 20k per month on 2 kids! Wow.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:43 am
The thing that people don’t really understand about child support is that the amounts the mother (or primary care giver) provides per month are only a small part of the whole picture. The court also looks at how much money the father is making and takes a percentage of that. Hence why “normal” parents pay much less. In fact, how much the father makes is generally looked at much more than how much the actual monthly expenses are. They also look at they type of lives the parents and children led while the parents were married. The court prefers to keep their lifestyle the same to make the divorce process easier on children. So if they were living a super lavish lifestyle before and Russell can afford that amount per month, the court is going to give it to Kimora so her children lives continue interrupted as little as possible.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:44 am
People also says he has to lease a car costing $60,000 or more every 24 months for the girls?! The world of the rich and famous is very strange to me.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:50 am
I would put it into a college fund.
June 27th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Sometimes the parent like to have the nannies and security around as a way to keep an eye on the ex…
I think that the amount is ludicrous considering that Kimora is far from indigent and makes quite a bit of money as the creative dir of Baby Phat, has a cosmetics line, and is an author. However, I’m sure it costs quite a bit to maintain their lavish lifestyle (home, private schooling, vacations, staff, etc.)
If I were allowed to save I’d sock 60% of funds away into a trust fund for the girls. I think that is more fiscally sound that scratching my head trying to figure out how many more expensive outfits I can buy for them.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:21 am
The thing that I really don’t understand the car part of the deal.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:24 am
obviously you guys know nothing about this family. they would have security ANYWAY… If you’ve seen their episode from cribs when they were still married, u could see the security around the house… actually their security is done by the Nation of Islam, she’s not asking of him anything i’m more than sure he’s not already doing… its just a matter of putting it in writing… i’m not to keen on the leasing of the vehicle… but they’ve become accostomed to a certain type of lifestyle… so i don’t understand why it seems HE’S the only one paying for it though… she’s become a mogul in her own right, but 40K is a penny in a bucket to him… in 2003 he was worth 400 million, and i’m sure w/ the sale of phat farm, rush card, rush athletics & alla that, he’s made out quite well…
i also don’t understand why he only has one week every 8 cuz it really doesn’t seem like (at least according to the show) that she spends a WHOLE HEAPING HELLUVA lot of time w/ them either… and i’m REALLY surprised about the nannies, cuz it seems like she just leaves them w/ the assistants… i always wondered if she even had nannies… lol…
and as far as them being self sufficient, those girls model for their mother’s line, they now have their own line… and if kimora let her, ming is prettty enough and has enough attitude to be the worlds first preteen supermodel… so they’re making more money than me @ 8 & 5… lol…
oh to have the problems of the rich… lol..
June 27th, 2008 at 10:25 am
Russell has just released a statement that clears up a lot…see Perez Hilton:
http://perezhilton.com/2008-06-27-setting-the-record-straight-2#respond
June 27th, 2008 at 10:27 am
One week every two months wouldn’t sit well with me, makes me wonder if fathers have rights at all.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I don’t understand the “car” part either, Jen, but I agree with Melanie: do you have any idea of the extravagant lifestyle these people lead?? Why on earth SHOULD those kids now be downgraded when their dad is so wealthy? Along with the vast empire they have created comes the expectation that the children will continue to live “in the manner in which they have grown accustomed” or something like that. And what’s wrong with the man paying for living expenses when the mom will be the primary caregiver of food, clothing and shelter for these girls? Sounds pretty fair to me.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:50 am
this sounds pretty fair to me..actually i see nothing wrong with it
June 27th, 2008 at 10:52 am
I think this is ridiculous and I would not agree to ever. That amount of money is enormous and doesn’t Kimorra have money herself too? The car thing and supervised visits AND only one week every 8 weeks. That means it’s possible for him to not see his children for 7 weeks!
June 27th, 2008 at 10:56 am
i understand that alimony and child support payments are based on the lifestyle that the person or persons became accustomed to. but a car valued at $60,000 or more every 2 years? would an 8 and 5 year old care what kind of car they are in? when i was that young i was happy if the care had air conditioning.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:57 am
The funny part is, she is a mogul in her own right, and Russell gave her HER company I believe!
June 27th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Keep in mind the car part is about ten years away, so with inflation $60k might not be quite as extravagent as it sounds. And, wouldn’t that expire when they’re 19.5 too? Not too many cars in there – 2 max for each.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Having read his statement, the arrangement and relationship between Russell and Kimora sounds very respectful and reasonable. They do live larger than life lives and the money is their business. I understand him wanting to set the record straight, so to speak. It eliminates speculation about him AND her. And eliminates harsh stories that may effect their kids. I think this sounds like two great people co-parenting the best they can and loving their kids. Well done Kimora and Russell.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:22 am
i liked his statement. don’t see anything wrong w/ the terms.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Russell sounds like a sweetheart, I like his statement, I wish all divorces could be this amicable (hint, hint Denise/Charlie)
June 27th, 2008 at 11:33 am
The statement by Russell is amazing. Yes there is an agreement by both parties, but yes we are working together to raise our kids. Even if there is a huge rift, they appear united. All divorced parents should strive to support each other in the interest of their kids the way this family has. Poor Sam and Lola Sheen already have a cloud over their entire lives because of their parents behavior. I feel sorry for them.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:44 am
If anyone hasn’t read the statement Lucy posted, they should. Here is the link again: http://perezhilton.com/2008-06-27-setting-the-record-straight-2#respond
In a statement responding to the gossip mills, Russell makes it clear that these stated weeks are just guaranteed times and not a precursor for how much he can actually see his kids. He implies that his visitation with his kids will be much more flexible.
In addition, he says he completely trusts Kimora and calls her an excellent mother. he has no problem with the supervised visits and states that it is because Kimora does not think he travels with enough security, not because she wants to spy or keep an eye on him as seems to be implied above.
They are not fighting over this and both are on good terms. This is how people going through a divorce should act, not slinging around insults like juveniles.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Beth, I laughed at your air conditioning remark. It reminded me of few years ago when I finally bought my own brand new car, I was happy with just air conditioning and a CD player, nothing too fancy. I can’t imagine getting a new fancy car every two years.
I can see paying too keep the lifestyles from changing too much, but paying too keep a child spoiled is sad to me, and yeah (before some who disagree jump on me) Kimora and the girls are spoiled..lol!
June 27th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I’m not surprised at the settlement of money kimora gets for the kids, they lead a very lavish lifestyle and the richer your spouse is the more you get. Child support goes by your income and obviously average people can’t afford child support like that, but a guy like russell is different, and the kids are used to living the good life. I like russell he seems like a sweet guy, kimora on the other hand seems snotty to me and the kids have her personality it seems on the show.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I’m glad Russell clarified everything even though he didn’t have to. It’s easy to read into things and as far as having security travel with the kids…alot of kids of celebrities have to travel with security due to the heighten risk of kidnapping. Respect to both of them for handling their business like adults…it’s too bad this kind of info leaks to the public but I’m happy Russell clarified some things.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
brooke- the girls have never known a diferent kind of life. they have a strong, opinionated mother and are being primarily raised by her. i think categorizing them as “snotty” may be a bit harsh. we’ll have to wait til they are on that show my super sweet 16 to see!
now those girls are super snots! 
June 27th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
One thing I think some people aren’t realizing, is that this is their ‘agreement’. Which means there was no big drawn out fight. Nowhere in any of the statements does Russell seem like he was upset with the outcome. This is something that both parties agreed on. I also don’t think it’s fair for people to say that Kimora makes ‘enough’ money to support them. It doesn’t matter if she does, plus he is more than willing to provide substantial amounts because he earns enough. Children should always benefit from what both their parents can provide. I also don’t see anything wrong with Kimora asking for a stipulation that the regular nanny and security that both kids are accustomed to, travel with them. It’s important for their routine to be as consistent as possible, and unfortunately children of celebrities could be kidnap targets.
My husband and I are lucky to have a great relationship with my ex and his wife, and all four of us try to do what is best for ‘our’ son. We attend events, take vacations, and even babysit each others children. People don’t always understand that there are no ‘rules’…we all get to make them up. What’s weird for you, may not be for others.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I read somewhere that Russell doesn’t travel with any security and that scares Kimora. Out of courtesy, Russell agrees to travel with the nanny and security.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
the nanny is probably just because she has the nanny at her house and figures it’s one more way to be consistent going house to house… and to give him help so he doesn’t have to hire a nanny to come only when he has the girls and her do the same… easier to share the nanny.
As for security, I’m guessing that aside from the horrible cases of kidnapping you hear about these days, it’s also because they are both famous… I’m guessing the girls probably have their OWN body guard/guards now and it just means they’ll go with so that neither parent has to worry.
I’m not surprised to hear Russell’s explanation and it makes so much sense… to have at least SOMETHING written up so that, should they get into a beef, they have a document that clarifies so there is no room to squabble. And then, as I gathered just from watching her show, where he did indeed come into town unexpectedly and she had him over at her place with the girls and then he took them the next day, they obviously wouldn’t deprive the kids of time spent with the other parent… just that, with them living on opposite ends of the country, they needed to draw up a schedule legally so that they would make sure everything was fair and the girls got to see both parents.
June 27th, 2008 at 1:50 pm
I find it sad that Russell had to come out and clarify their custody arrangement. It is very obvious that they have a cordial relationship at the very least. They agreed to the agreement and who are we to judge the kind of agreement they have? This should have been a private matter. From what I can see from tv and news articles, Russell and Kimora were friendly after their split and there wasn’t any public animosity between the two of them. This should be commended and copied. Just look at Denise Richards and Charlie Sheen. In regards to comments about the financial agreement, well we aren’t talking about a regular guy on the street. These are two people who are very successful in their business ventures and their daughters were born into the life of luxury. It might seem excessive to most of us but then again most of us aren’t wealthy like them. Why shouldn’t parents who can afford a luxurious life to their kids be able to do that? We all want the best for our kids. For some of us, that means Gap Kids and a Toyota and for others it means Dolce & Gabbana and a BMW.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:13 pm
Hmm see now i’m wondering…how can I get Kimora and Russell to legally adopt me…
June 27th, 2008 at 2:44 pm
That is a lot of money. WOW.
I know I always sound like the earth hugger. But man, there are alot of people whose lives would really be changed by just ONE months allowance for those two girls.
Sad..sad world we live in.
June 27th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
ITA with melanie and the first part of what Faye said. Also, with the one night every two week deal, if I remember correctly, the agreement said that the visitation has to be in L.A. Russell lives in NY. Kimora may be moving and hence Russell’s visitation is limited in order to keep from having the girls fly back and forth all the time to visit with him. The only thing I cannot wrap my head around is the $60,000+ car every two years…..yeah natalie s. maybe I could be adopted too and we could be sisters. LOL!
June 27th, 2008 at 5:58 pm
I see that Russell isnt upset about this arrangement, so why is everyone else here so upset?
June 28th, 2008 at 1:48 am
To us that amount of money is outrageous, but they live a lavish lifestyle they have been accustomed to. If Russell is making hundreds of millions of dollars, I don’t understand why his daughters should have to live like paupers. It’s only fair that they continue to live the kind of life their parents introduced them to. It’s not the girls fault they were introduced to that lifestyle and they shouldn’t be penalized because their parents separated. It’s just not 3 meals, a bed, and a public school, they have tutors, private lessons, sports, dance, travel, tuition at two private schools (one in LA where she lives and one in NY where he lives). All of which costs money.
It would be great if everyone wasn’t so judgmental. If they are both at peace with it, then why should we be so bothered?
July 1st, 2008 at 11:18 pm
WOw, why does the car have to be $60,000 and every 24 mos? Huh?
I know they have money and everything, but wow..do these kids get high dollar presents , daily?
I just hope these kids grow up okay
GB