Mildred Baena, the mother of Arnold Schwarzenegger's love child, has hired a an attorney — and could go after the multimillionaire actor and former governor for substantial child support money on behalf of her 13-year-old son.
Under California law, children are entitled to a lifestyle similar to that of their parents. Baena (left) is a retired housekeeper whose 2001 Nissan was repossessed in April 2004.
Schwarzenegger has made hundreds of millions from his acting and other business enterprises; he famously complained that he lost $200 million in earnings by serving as governor for the state of California. He drives a Bentley and an $80,000 vintage Mercedes Excalibur, among other cars, and as governor, he flew to and from Sacramento in his own private jet.
Baena's lawyer, Michael Saltz of L.A. firm Jacobson, Russell, Saltz & Fingerman, did not return messages Wednesday.
Schwarzenegger "has got two children who are almost the exact same age," family lawyer and certified family law specialist Fred Silberberg told TheWrap. "The child who is the child of Maria (Shriver) is living in quite the lap of luxury. The other child is not."
Silberberg, who is not a party to the case, said that Baena "would be entitled to a pretty generous child support," and that even if she has a preexisting arrangement with the former governor, "child support is always subject to being modified by the court."
He explained that "the right to receive child support according to the law belongs to the child — not to the parent."
In other words, Baena can always go to court on the boy's behalf and ask for more child support.
Silberberg said that even if the child support substantially increases Baena's standard of living, if those improvements benefitted the child, it would be appropriate in the eyes of the law.
One other — if unlikely — issue Silberberg raised: Schwarzenegger could sue for custody of Baena's child.
Schwarzenegger has contributed to Baena. In early 2010, he gave her $65,000 so she could get a mortgage on a house in Bakersfield, according to numerous published reports.
Schwarzenegger and his wife, Maria Shriver, said earlier this month that they were splitting up. A week later, Schwarzenegger confirmed that he had fathered Baena's child.
