February, 2009 | Pennsylvania Family Law Blog - The Law Offices of Sheryl R. Rentz Archive
Britney Spears and Kevin Federline Reach Final Custody Agreement
On July 25, 2008, Britney Spears filed a settlement at the Superior Court in Los Angeles to finalize her child custody agreement with ex-husband, Kevin Federline. A week prior, Spears had consented to give her ex custody — both physical and legal control — of Jayden James and Sean Preston, their two children. Per the agreement, Spears would retain the right to visit her children. According to sources like E! and TMZ.com, Spears has had to pay out more than $2.5 million in legal fees in 2008 — nearly ¾ of a million of which went to Mark Kaplan, a lawyer representing Kevin Federline. She also had to pay nearly the same amount to assemble a team to hammer out the conservatorship of her estate. In February, 2008, Spears’ dad and her lawyer, Andrew Wallet, were named co-conservators of the pop star’s assets and estate, and according to arrangements made on July 25, 2008, that conservatorship should be extended at least another half a year. On October 28, 2008, a hearing was held to review the progress of the conservatorship. Read the rest »
Guy Ritchie and Madonna Split After Eight Years
On November 22, 2008, a London Court unceremoniously dissolved the marriage of British film director Guy Ritchie and American pop superstar Madonna. Madonna had filed for the separation, claiming that Ritchie had exhibited unreasonable behavior. The court took all of a minute to dissolve the marriage, and neither Madonna or Ritchie nor their attorneys were around to hear Judge Reid deliver the decree nisi.
The Madonna-Ritchie separation was a remarkably low-key affair — especially when compared to the bloodbath that was the divorce of former Beatle, Paul McCartney, and his ex, Heather Mills.
All told, it’s estimated that Madonna’s personal fortune is worth nearly half a billion dollars, while Ritchie’s assets total nearly $50 million. The couple will share custody of their two boys, an eight year old son named Rocco and a three year old adopted son named David Banda. Madonna also has a 12-year-old daughter with an ex-boyfriend, Carlos Leon. The Friday afternoon court hearing in which the decree nisi was pronounced also featured the dissolution of 17 other marriages. Read the rest »
Los Angeles Times Article Features Compelling Immigration and Child Custody Battles
On June 30, 2008, the LA Times featured an article about an unusual child custody battle between a Mexican national named Carlos Alvarado and his ex-wife, Marla Campo, a US citizen. Alvarado arrived on US soil in early 1990s and later met and courted Campo. In 1997, Campo gave birth to their son, Michael. The couple then split up a few years later. A court decreed that Campo would retain primary custody of Michael. However, in 2003, the situation dramatically changed when Campo absconded with their son because — she claimed — Alvarado was not paying his fair share of child support costs. The parents went back into family court, where a judge ruled that Campo and Alvarado had to share custody. Complicating this relatively ordinary seeming custody battle, however, was the fact that Alvarado was doing battle in another court — Immigration Court. Read the rest »
Terrifying Santa Shooting Leaves Nine Dead
On Christmas Eve 2008, a man deranged from what he perceived to be an unfair divorce settlement went on a rampage in Covina, California. He killed eight relatives of his ex-wife before fleeing and then shooting himself in the head. According to the facts as investigators have pieced them together, the shooter, a man named Bruce Pardo, had recently completed his divorce settlement with his estranged ex, Silvia Pardo. Having been fired from his job in July, Pardo had fallen behind on his child support payments. He showed up to the home of Alisha and James Ortega dressed as Santa Claus carrying a gift box that contained an explosive liquid, which he used to light the Ortega’s house on fire. Bruce Jeffrey Pardo began his rampage by shooting an eight year old girl in the face. He then went on a gun slinging, fire starting rampage that ended with eight dead and several injured. Among the victims medical authorities expect to survive are two young women, ages 16 and 20, and the 8 year old victim who was shot in the face.
Following the shootings and torching of the Ortega’s house, Pardo escaped to the home of his brother in Sylmar. By the time police arrived on Thursday morning, Pardo had shot himself in the head. Read the rest »
Article on 2005 Child Shooting Angers Chief of LAPD
On January 7, 2009, LAPD Police Chief Bill Bratton lashed out against the Los Angeles Times for implying that Bratton’s department had been unethical while investigating the 2005 shooting of a 1-year-old girl, Susie Pena. Bratton’s tirade against the Times came on the heels of an article that suggested that the department had made both scientific and ethical lapses during an autopsy investigation for this tragedy, which started with a family dispute. Read the rest »
WWF Superstar Bodyslammed with Surprise Divorce Charge
On November 25, 2007, distressing news broke for WWF legend Hulk Hogan. His wife of many years, Linda Hogan, had filed for divorce through the Pinellas County Court in Florida. Hulk (whose legal name is Terry Bollea) and Linda had starred in their own reality television series on the VH1 Channel called Hogan Knows Best. Towards the end of the season, the show featured Linda and Hulk attending counseling sessions together, but the show concluded with the couple finding common ground. Read the rest »
Pennsylvania Dad Says Courts Should Automatically Award Joint Custody
A Pennsylvania father, who spent four years and most of his money to fight a child custody battle, is lobbying for House Bill 2825 that would award joint custody to couples unless the court finds that such joint custody would not be in the child’s best interest. A report says that Jesse Storm thinks parents should not have to “go through a divorce and split your property and assets up 50/50 between mom and dad” and still end up spending an additional $20,000 to $80,000 on a child custody battle. Storm says he should have spent that kind of money on his child’s college tuition rather than battling to spend a weekend with his child.
Storm has started a group called Pennsylvania Families Association to fight the court system, which he says benefits only one parent. It is an unfair system, he says, where 91 percent of child custody cases are settled with a primary custodian where one parent has the majority of the custody of the child. Read the rest »
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