Guide Note

Kevin Federline was awarded temporary physical custody of his two children Sean Preston and Jayden James Federline on October 1, 2007, after charges were filed against their mother Britney Spears for hit-and-run and driving without a valid California license.¹

On July 17, 2008, OK! Magazine reported that Spears and Federline reached a custody settlement in which Federline will retain permanent sole custody of the children and Spears will retain visitation rights.²

Fast Facts

1. Spears and Federline married on September 18, 2004
2. Divorced in July 2007
3. Sean Preston born on September 14, 2005
4. Jayden James born on September 12, 2006
5. Spears hospitalized twice in January of 2008 for mental evaluation and treatment³
6. Spears granted supervised visit on February 23, 2008³
7. Spears awarded overnight visitation on June 24, 2008⁴
8. Custody settlement reached at 8:00 p.m. on July 18, 2008²

A settlement in the custody battle was reached on July 18, 2008. In the settlement, Federline will retain sole custody of their children, Sean Preston and Jayden James, and will receive approximately $20,000 a month from Spears for child support. Spears will retain visitation rights. Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, will be paid an additional $200,000 from Spears as well.⁵

On December 18, 2007, Spears and Federline were back in court where it was decided that the court date for the custody dispute would be pushed back to February 19, 2008, allowing for Spears' current visitation order to stay in place until then.⁶

On January 04, 2008, a court commissioner suspended Britney Spears' visitation following her breakdown and hospitalization on January 03, 2008.⁷

Britney Spears was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on January 3, 2008, after holding her sons hostage in her bathroom and refusing to hand them over to Federline. She was hospitalized again on January 31, 2008, where she was placed on a psychiatric hold for 72 hours.³⁸

On February 23, 2008, Spears was allowed a three hour supervised visit with her children accompanied by her father James Spears and her psychiatrist. This was her first visit with the children since January 3, 2008, after a three day negotiation with Federline's lawyers in a bid to reintroduce the children to their mother in a positive and controlled manner.³

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge awarded Britney Spears overnight visitations on June 24, 2008, with sons Sean Preston and Jayden James. Her next court date is scheduled for July 15, 2008.⁴