Britney Spears and Kevin Federline were back in court in Los Angeles this morning, discussing the visitation schedule of their two young sons, Sean and Jayden. Reportedly, Spears was awarded overnight visitation with the boys after the court heard testimony from the court-appointed parenting coach/evaluator. The children had been in the sole custody of Federline since Spears’ psychiatric hospitalization early this year. Spears had very limited, supervised visitation for quite some time following her release from the hospital. That visitation was expanded about six weeks ago to three full days a week, supervised.

Another happening of note in the Spears-Federline saga, super-divorce-lawyer-to-the-stars Laura Wasser has re-entered her appearance in the case on Spears’ behalf. It was Wasser who successfully negotiated the original joint custody agreement during the initial divorce proceeding almost a year ago. As Spears’ strange behavior escalated in the late summer and early fall of 2007, Wasser withdrew from the case.

Reports indicated that she did so because Spears would not listen to her advice. Wasser was followed ever so briefly by attorney Mel Goldsman at Freid and Goldsman. He was followed by lawyers Sorrell Trope and Ann Kiley of Trope and Trope. Most recently, Spears has been represented by Stacy Phillips of Phillips Lerner Lauzon & Jamra. The reappearance of Wasser is seen as an indication that Spears - assisted by her father and conservator Jamie Spears - is generally more stable than in the recent past. It is unlikely that Wasser would have agreed to rejoin the Spears camp if she did not believe that the previous communications problems had been resolved.

Federline has been represented by attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan since the divorce case began.

Actress Anne Heche claims in court documents that she cannot afford to pay the nearly $15,000-a-month in child support and spousal support she is currently obligated to pay to ex-husband Coleman Laffoon because she is now unemployed. Heche most recently starred in the television series Men In Trees, which was cancelled. Heche has asked the court for a modification of her support obligations going forward.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge suspended Heche’s $14,798 per month support obligation for the month of July, pending a hearing on the matter. The judge also ordered Heche to file updated income and expense disclosures with the court before the next hearing.

Heche claims that she is seeking new work but has no offers and is fearful that the looming Screen Actors Guild strike will put her at a further financial disadvantage.

In a court declaration in support of the requested modification, Heche claimed that she has less than $35,000 in assets and can no longer afford to pay the monthly support, along with private school tuition for their 6-year-old son Homer, the mortgage on her house in Canada where Men In Trees filmed, rent on her Los Angeles home and car and personal expenses. She also noted that she has approximately $364,000 in outstanding debt, resulting largely from the bitter divorce and custody battle with Laffoon.

Child support is almost always modifiable if the parent seeking the modification can prove a substantial change in circumstances which would make the original support amount unreasonable. Certainly, the loss of a job could meet the criteria of a substantial change in circumstances. The court, however, is unlikely to reduce Heche’s support obligation to zero due to her current unemployment. She has a history of regular acting work - including very recent, regular work - therefore, the court will likely impute or assign an income level which would be equal to some historical average of Heche’s wages. The imputed income level would then be used to calculate a reasonable amount of child support. Courts use this imputation method as a dis-incentive for parents to quit their jobs as a means to avoid paying child support.

Heche and Laffoon were married in 2001, shortly after Heche split from her long-term girlfriend, comedienne Ellen DeGeneres. The divorcing couple has only one child, Homer. They split in early 2007 amidst reports that Heche was having an affair with her Men in Trees co-star James Tupper.

The divorce has been pending now for over a year without final resolution. As we noted in a November 2007 post about this case, the couple has battled viciously and publicly over both custody and property. Interestingly, the judge in Heche and Laffoon’s case appointed the same custody evaluator as in the Britney Spears-Kevin Federline custody battle. Heche is represented by the Jaffe & Clemens law firm. Laffoon is represented by Freid & Goldsman.

After almost two and a half years, the divorce of actors David Hasselhoff and Pamela Bach is final. The pair married in 1989 and separated at the end of 2005. They were granted a divorce in August 2006 but the court bifurcated or divided the case and reserved custody, property and support issues for a later date. Hasselhoff and Bach battled publicly over custody of their two teenage daughters, tossing allegations of alcohol and drug abuse at each other. Custody of the kids was resolved last August and now, apparently, the support and property distribution matters have been settled as well.

The judgment entered by the Los Angeles Superior Court this week indicates that the couple signed a prenuptial agreement before their 1989 wedding but that, rather than fight in court over the validity of the agreement, Hasselhoff and Bach reached an agreement to resolve their financial issues. California is a community property state which would result in a 50/50 split of all marital assets. It is unclear if this is what happened in the Hasselhoff divorce or not - but it probably comes pretty close. It does appear that they were each awarded 50% of the interest in their marital home, which will be listed for sale. They divided their household items and likely split their marital bank accounts. Bach was awarded 50% of Hasselhoff’s retirement accounts and pensions, which will be divided by a Qualified Domestic Relations Order or QDRO. Bach was also awarded half of the future earnings from Hasselhoff’s memoirs and a few other projects.

Hasselhoff retained the rights to all of his various professional acting and singing endeavors - including rights to the phrases “The Hoff”, “Malibu Dave” and “Don’t Hassle the Hoff.” He will pay his ex-wife $1,000,000 to equalize the division of their marital assets. Hasselhoff also agreed to pay Bach $21,000 per month in spousal support until either of them dies or she remarries. Hasselhoff will pay $4,000 per month in child support (this amount will be reduced to $2,500 when the older daughter turns 18 and presumably graduates from high school next month) and will pay for the private high school tuition of each child. The couple shares joint physical custody of the girls as well as joint legal custody.

Hasselhoff was represented by attorneys Melvin Goldsman and Marci Levine of the Freid and Goldsman firm. Bach went through about five different attorneys or law firms over the course of the litigation.

When celebrities are getting divorced, involved in a paternity suit or are seeking a prenup they often turn to what are recognized as the biggest celebrity divorce attorneys in Los Angeles.

The majority of big divorce, paternity, and child custody cases are kept under the radar. But when a case goes public, the high powered family lawyers handling celebrity cases can get nearly as much press as their famous clients. High net worth individuals, and celebrities in particular, need an attorney who is not only an expert in the field of family law, but who is familiar with the judges in the Los Angeles Superior Court, and who can keep their divorce out of the tabloids and as low key as possible.

What follows is a list of the top celebrity divorce attorneys in Los Angeles and some of their more famous clients:

Continue reading "Top Celebrity Divorce Lawyers in Los Angeles"

In February 2007, actress Anne Heche and her husband Coleman Laffoon (a freelance cameraman), filed for divorce. The parties have a five year old son, Homer. The two have been engaged in a heated custody battle in the Los Angeles Superior Court. It has been reported that Laffoon has attacked Heche’s parenting skills, and Heche has accoused Laffoon of being addicted to pornography and online poker.

Despite the bitter accusations, it has been reported that Anne and Coleman may have made some progress during the most recent court hearing in September. According to the Associated Press, Heche said that she had “a good day in court” on September 26. Laffoon implied similar satisfaction. The progress could well be attributed the negotiating skills of the high powered attorneys handling the case.

Heche is represente by Dan Jaffe of the well known Beverly Hills law firm, Jaffe and Clemens. Laffoon is represented by Jon Summers, a partner at the Los Angeles law firm of Freid and Goldsman. The firms serve as divorce attorneys to the stars. Freid and Goldsman also represents David Hasseloff in his high profile custody battles.