Divorce isn’t easy, especially when there are children involved. Most California parents try their best to cooperate and compromise as needed to keep their kids’ best interests in mind when resolving child custody issues. Celebrity divorce cases often make news headlines, and reviewing some of the more notable cases can be a means of obtaining information that later proves valuable in one’s own life.
For instance, actress Kelly Rutherford’s contentious custody battle with her ex shows the importance of understanding state laws, as well as any international laws that might apply when one of the two parents is living abroad. Rutherford wound up losing custody of her kids, perhaps because she took matters into her own hands by refusing to return her kids to their father at the appointed time. It’s typically a better idea to turn to an experienced family law attorney who is well-versed on issues regarding domestic versus international laws and court jurisdiction.
“NYPD Blue” star Kim Delaney lost custody when the court awarded her former spouse custody of their 15-year-old son. This ruling came after the boy testified in court that his mother had placed him in harm’s way by forcing him to ride as a passenger in a car she was driving while intoxicated. Parental substance abuse is often a key factor in situations where one parent requests the court to rule the other unfit. In Delaney’s case, her son told the judge he did not want to be with his mother until she received formal help for her addiction.
Any parent in Manhattan Beach, California or elsewhere in the state who is considering filing a petition for child custody modification may want to review actress Sharon Stone’s case first. The court told Stone that she failed to prove that her request would be in her son’s best interests when she asked that he come to live with her to be closer to his siblings. The court ruled that he should remain with his father because he was already partway through the school year and changing the custody order would cause further disruption in his life. An experienced family law attorney can help protect a parent’s rights and make sure that children’s best interests are a central focus of all related proceedings.
