At a hearing on Tuesday, pop star Britney Spears was reportedly granted additional visitation with her young sons, Sean Preston Federline and Jayden James Federline. TMZ.com reports that she will now have three days of supervised visitation every week with the boys. She was apparently getting one day of supervised visitation weekly since being discharged from inpatient psychiatric care earlier this year. A formal custody evaluation was submitted to the court and attorneys last week and was reportedly had both positive and negative things to say about the pop singer as a parent. Reports indicate that she is not yet allowed to keep her sons for overnight visits but that the plan is to slowly increase the time she spends with the boys over time. The goal apparently is to restore the 50/50 physical custody arrangement that she previously had with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

It is important to note that Federline retains all legal custody of the boys at this point. Spears has only visitation. She is currently under the conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears and has been since her hospitalization. Jamie Spears has legal control of his daughter’s personal and financial affairs at least until a July hearing in that case. It is not surprising then that Commissioner Scott Gordon in the custody case has not restored any legal custody rights to Spears - seeing as she has been deemed by the probate court to be unfit to handle her own affairs at this time.

Still, the visitation plan indicates that Commissioner Gordon and the Federline camp are pleased with Spears’ mental health progress and her father’s supervision. It is generally a family court’s goal to keep parents and children together and to facilitate meaningful familial relationships. It appears that the court in this case has a specific plan on how to accomplish that for the Spears-Federline family. Federline’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan indicated that the ex-couple had “mostly” agreed on the revised visitation plan and that he was cautiously optimistic about moving forward with the new, graduated plan.

Britney Spears’ and Kevin Federline’s attorneys were at it again last week. The lawyers appeared before Commissioner Scott Gordon in Los Angeles to argue over legal fees. Today, Spears was ordered to pay $375,000 of Federline’s attorney’s fees in the custody modification battle that has been heated for months. While Federline receives child support from Spears for their two young sons and presumably makes some sort of income for his intermittent acting gigs and public appearances, he is clearly not in the same financial position as Spears, who reportedly makes at least $700,000 per month. Federline apparently owes nearly $500,000 to his attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan. Stacy Phillips, Spears’ newest attorney, claims that Spears has already spent over $1 million on the custody case.

Phillips argued that Federline has plenty of money available to pay his own fees, pointing out a $2,000 tip Federline left on a $365 restaurant check recently and also argued that Kaplan’s fees were unreasonable. Kaplan countered by arguing that he was in court on the case eight times between September and January alone due solely to Spears’ behavior and bad judgment and in support of Federline’s attempts to protect the welfare of the children. Several additional court appearances were necessary after Spears’ two involuntary psychiatric commitments in January and February of this year. Continue reading "Britney Ordered to Pay K-Fed’s Legal Fees"

Recently, there was another hearing in Britney and Kevin’s ongoing custody battle over Sean Preston and Jayden James. At the hearing, Commissioner Gordon decided not to reinstate Britney’s 50% custody with the children. His decision was based upon the court appointed parenting coach’s report to the court, which suggested that Britney have less visitation with the children. Britney will continue to have three visits per week, including one overnight visit, and she will continue to be required to submit to random drug testing.

When Can a Court Order Random Drug Testing?

Pursuant to California Family Code section 3041.5, the court can order a parent seeking custody/visitation to submit to random drug testing if there is a “judicial determination based upon a preponderance of evidence that there is the habitual, frequent, or continual illegal use of controlled substances or the habitual or continual abuse of alcohol.” In other words, since Commissioner Gordon found that Britney was frequently and illegally using controlled substances or alcohol, she must now submit to drug testing so that the court can help ensure that the children are safe while in her care.

Can Britney Ever Regain Custody?

If Britney can show the court that she is a fit parent she will likely regain 50% custody of the children. Of course, part of the challenge is proving that she does not use drugs or abuse alcohol. The court will usually base its decision upon a declaration submitted by Britney making these statements under penalty of perjury, and may want to hear oral testimony from her. The court’s decision will likely be based largely on the conclusions of a custody evaluation or the report of a parenting coach and the drug test results. We should expect another custody hearing soon which will either be a status hearing (basically an update requested by the judge) or a motion brought by Britney’s attorney requesting more visitation.

Who is Commissioner Scott Gordon?

Scott Gordon was a former Santa Monica police officer. He attended Southwestern University School of Law in Los Angeles and joined the District Attorney’s office in 1985, where he was assigned to criminal cases. While a District Attorney Scott Gordon also taught criminal law classes at Southwestern Law School. I was fortunate to have Scott Gordon as a professor at Southwestern - he was an excellent teacher and well liked by students.

In 2002, Scott Gordon was elected a Superior Court commissioner and served in the criminal courts. Around 2004, he was assigned to the family law courts. As a family lawyer I had the opportunity to have cases in his court room, and in my experience, Commissioner Gordon is a fair judge; he understands family law and makes well-reasoned and thoughtful decisions. He is considered among the best family law judges in Los Angeles county.

What is the Difference Between a Commissioner and a Judge?

A commissioner is a lawyer who is elected to the judicial position. A commissioner has the same powers as a judge, but parties to the action (i.e.: plaintiff and defendant) must agree or stipulate to have their case heard by a commissioner instead of a judge. If one of the parties doesn’t agree to the commissioner the case will be moved to a courtroom in which a judge presides.

Commissioner Scott Gordon’s Most Recent Orders

At the last Spears Federline hearing, Commissioner Gordon ordered that Britney have monitored visitation with a parenting coach present. Commissioner Gordon also ordered Spears to undergo random drug testing.

Did Britney Really Lose Custody?

The court files in the Spears Federline custody dispute have been sealed and the courtroom during the custody proceedings are closed to the public, so the details of the custody battle are not known. However, Britney most likely did not lose complete physical custody of Jayden James and Sean Preston. The parent that has the most custodial time with the children has primary physical custody and the other parent has visitation. Until recently, Britney had the children the majority of the time and Kevin had visitation. Pursuant to the most recent court order issued by Commissioner Scott Gordon, Kevin now has the children the majority of the time and Britney has limited visitation. The court may have even ordered that Britney have supervised visitation. Supervised visitation means that the parent can only exercise visitation if a specific person of the court’s choosing is present. Often the court will order that a nanny or social worker be present. That person would also be expected to report back to the court about the visitations. Supervised visitation is most often ordered when a parent abuses drugs and/or alcohol and the court has determined that the safety of the children is at risk or if the parent has a history of domestic violence.

Why Did The Court Decrease Britney’s Visitation with the Children?

From the very few documents and information released by Britney’s and Kevin’s attorneys it appears that Britney’s time with the children was decreased because she failed to comply with the court’s orders. Apparently, the court ordered Britney to submit to alcohol and drug testing and to attend parenting classes. Britney did not comply. The court will make a change or modification to an existing custody order when it concludes a modification would be in the best interests of the children.

Will Britney Get the Kids Back?

If Britney follows the court’s orders and submits to drug/alcohol testing and attends parenting classes it is likely that her time with the children will be increased. The courts would “like” to be able to award both parents equal time with the children. If there are no concerns about a parent’s ability to take care of the child both parents will usually share custody 50/50. As long as Britney complies with the court’s orders and there are no concerns about her ability to care for the children she will most likely eventually share equal custody with Kevin.

Does Custody Affect Other Aspects of the Divorce?

The custodial arrangement determines the amount of child support to be paid. The parent who has the children the majority of the time is entitled to child support from the other parent. Both parents’ income is also taken into consideration. If Kevin’s custodial time increased he will be entitled to more child support from Britney. Child support cannot be limited by a premarital agreement so Britney and Kevin were not able to predetermine or limit child support in their premarital agreement.