Britney Spears posted an Instagram of her two sons this week. Clearly, this is multi-level PR. On just the surface, Britney Spears – and her team – want to reemphasize the fact that Britney does spend time with Jayden and Sean Preston and that she’s a “hands on mom” despite her conservatorship. On another level, it’s interesting to me that even though Kevin Federline and Team Britney are launching legal grenades at each other, K-Fed is still allowing the boys to spend time with Britney. Kevin wants more money in child support, but as of right now, he’s not cutting off Britney’s access to their sons. Maybe that will change, who knows. But what we do know is that Kevin’s lawyer wants to depose Brit-Brit.
Dancing toward court? Three months after Kevin Federline’s initial request to double the $20,000 monthly child support payment he receives from ex-wife Britney Spears, the former backup dancer’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly that he plans to depose the 36-year-old pop star to get information on her financial status.
Spears and Federline, 40, split in 2007 after three years of marriage. In 2008, amid her much-publicized breakdown, Spears lost sole physical and legal custody of their sons Preston, 12, and Jayden, 11, though Federline allows “for very liberal visitation in which Britney and Kevin have the boys 50/50,” explains a source. “It’s at Kevin’s sole discretion how often and when the boys see Britney,” who remains under the conservatorship of her father, Jamie Spears.
The insider cites this as the reason for the request, saying, “he has gone above and beyond what most people would do in his situation.” The source adds that Federline believes Spears’ contact with her sons contributed in part to the success of her Las Vegas residency, which ended December 31, and grossed $137 million during its four-year run.
Kaplan explains his client merely wants “the reasonable needs of the children to be met.” But a source close to Spears counters that “all of their expenses are paid for,” and notes that Federline’s four other children are “not Britney’s responsibility.”
Amid the legal back and forth, the singer is “extremely concerned” about losing her visitation rights, says the Spears source. But Kaplan stresses that is not Federline’s goal: “This is only about Kevin’s request for a reasonable payment increase.”
I know I’m a broken record about this, but seriously: Team K-Fed. He hasn’t shut down Britney’s access to the boys, he’s gone above and beyond to make sure Britney can be a hands-on mother, and again, it’s perfectly normal for the child support payment structure to be re-examined and changed if the support payer has a dramatic increase in salary. I still don’t understand why Jamie Spears didn’t just agree to Kevin’s terms quietly. Oh well – I guess we’ll find out when Kevin’s lawyer deposes Britney and Jamie Spears.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Instagram.
Those boys have the Spears gene through and through.
The real question is, why doesn’t Jamie want to show the receipts? If everything was fine and dandy before that, why the fight now.
Me thinks Jamie screwed up somewhere and even the lawyer in charge of the conservatorship does not know about it.
Not even remotely possible, Tiffany.
In addition to her co-conservator attorney(s), she also has court-appointed counsel who must all submit annual financial documents to the court.
Because she’s lost lots of relevance over the last five or six years, nobody really paid much attention but I’ve seen the documents and looked at Judge Reva Goetz’s statements: she has vast, vast wealth.
Again, her conservatorship finances are already in the public domain:
http://www.tmz.com/2017/09/12/britney-spears-expenses-massages-conservatorship/
http://www.tmz.com/2016/08/05/britney-spears-money-accounting-pet-expenses/
http://www.tmz.com/2014/09/02/britney-spears-spending-dogs-pets-conservatorship-court-docs-david-lucado/
http://www.tmz.com/2010/12/01/britney-spears-conservatorship-money-assets-wealth-millions/
Not sure what else Federline and his lawyer can do.
@Tiffany If Jaime was stealing money or doing anything shady, there’s no way he would let this issue get this far. I don’t think it’s rocket science to know if it gets to court, his/her finances would be scrutinized. He would have just paid up or dealt with this privately.
If the President of the United States and his fixer were stealing money or doing anything shady, there’s no way they would let that issue get this far.
; )
Are we really comparing this to Trump?? Wow, did not know that Jaime had that kind of power or that many important “friends”. Good to know.
Just having a bit of fun. History is filled with stories of people who never thought they would be caught. In the cases above, time and evidence will tell.
Access to one’s children isn’t dependent upon payment of child support. If her attorney allowed any agreement to the contrary or which allowed him to be vindictive with access to the kids she should be disbarred.
Not the same situation. Kevin legally does not have to allow the visitation that he does now. He can completely pull it and the courts will agree with him.
@ Tiffany : Not exactly. It seems that access is part of the agreement but it is undefined or “liberal”, so as long as they both agree to it, everything is fine. Right now, both Kevin and Britney are agreeing to lots of access. If Kevin stops the access or limits it to a great degree, Britney can go to court to have the access defined and ask for specific access periods to be ordered by the court.
I agree with @still_sarah – The court would not allow Kevin to keep the kids from her unless she had some kind of relapse. Those boys are also at the age where the court will take their opinion into consideration as to where they want to live and if they want to continue to spend half their time with their mom.
They are not babies anymore.
Sherry, usually I would agree with you. At 13 the courts let me make the decision if my parents couldn’t work it out. Same for family friends. 13 is a magic number.
But legally since she’s under a conservatorship I don’t know that this is the case. I’m usually on Team Brit-except in this case.
Because of the conservatorship she legally can’t even take care of herself much less be put in charge of two children.
I think a judge might take the boys wants into account-but unless somethign changes with her conservatorship I don’t think it would actually matter. There is a reason Kevin has sole custody, and she has visitation-and it’s never been challenged.
KFed can’t deny Britney visitation rights, he could move to limit access. IMO, it would be very unwise and spiteful to use that as a negotiating tactic to increase his monthly child support. First and foremost, the two boys, Sean and Jayden would suffer. The boys clearly enjoy spending time with Britney and she with them. Britney seems healthy and there’s nothing to suggest she presents a danger to either of her sons as was the case in 2008 when she had her well publicized breakdown. Sean turns 13 and Jayden turns 12 in September. They are not babies anymore and I believe a judge would take their opinions into consideration.
I’m not an attorney, so I’m not sure if under California law, KFed’s lawyer can depose Britney while she’s still under a conservatorship? Or would they have to depose her Dad, Jamie?
It’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out. Ultimately, KFed may get more money, but maybe not as much as the $60K a month that he’s asking for.
I hope if he gets more, the judge also raises his ex’s child support. If Kevin’s income goes up, his child support to the ex should go up too, right?
Lady D, no, the money is supposed to be used for Britney’s children only, so the other ex wouldn’t be able to ask for any of it. At least that’s how I understand it.
What I got from it was that the boys already currently spend half their time with her. So she’s paying all their expenses (and KFed’s, too) AND has them half the time. This is greed on his part.
I’m sorry but I’m not going to praise K Fed like he’s some saint by letting the boys spend time with their mother. Even if there is no legal obligation it’s the right thing to do and he doesn’t deserve a pat on the back for that. I’m over this stupid drama.
Thank you.
Britney has also done what was mandated of her by the courts, physicians etc and deserves access to her children. She works hard and shouldn’t be obligated to make Federline a rich man. She supports HER children and goes above and beyond financially with that. Where is her pat on the back?!
I agree!
Is he a saint for letting the boys hang with mom? No. Is he right to ask for more child support? Yes. Are his reasons ok? No, you should support your other kids with your own money, Britney should not be forced to pay for other four kids, since she pays the support and for all her boys expenses. Is this situation shady af? Yes.
OK, so everyone deserves a pat on the back for trying to do the right thing. She was too impulsive to marry, too immature to have kids, and too ill to raise kids. Add in heaps of money, a sometimes-suspect custodial parent, and a co-parent with children by other women, and it’s a recipe for flare-ups like this. To be continued.
I agree. We could go round and round all day pointing fingers. My bottom line- custody support hasn’t been adjusted in ten years while her income has skyrocketed. It should be increased. Sure, it’ll be spent in ways that involve his other children. That’s a hard pill to swallow but it’s just not worth this public discord and damage to all for Jaime to stand his ground and be indignant about it. The increase is a DROP in the bucket for them. The boys will be grown soon enough. Family peace and a relatively minuscule amt of money or getting all in a power-off over being “right”?
I agree – he may be entitled to a little more money based on her recent income, but this veiled threat to keep the kids from her is sad and gross. That would end up hurting the kids, and probably damage their relationship with him too.
I don’t understand why this is all such a hassle and why it’s so public. Everyone should provide some accounting info and let the court decide. End of story, and stop hashing it out in the tabloids.
@lucy2 – I agree with you. But there’s little chance that either side will keep mum. Everyone conducts PR by via social networks, tabloids and media these days.
She always looks like she just woke up after sleeping in a full face of makeup.
After first being awake 36 hours in a row!
Yes, nailed it!
Her sons are adorable
And so tall now. It’s hard to believe it.
They are all after Britney’s money. Federline, his wife, Britney’s father. All of them. So no, I’m not team any of those leeches.
It is a sad situation. She is unwell with no one on her side for real. Tragic.
Team Federline.
It does not matter than he has 3 other kids, or whether or not he works. Britt’s income went up dramatically and at least in CA that means child support should be reassessed. The fact other bills are paid for is moot-particularly if required by the child custody agreement or divorce decree. It’s part of the child support.
I suppose we could make Federline’s other kids live in a tent on the property if Brit is indeed paying for the house-why should those kids be entitled to anything Brit’s money provides? I mean who cares what the rift between the siblings could become or how harmful to all of them it could be? Because hey-her money shouldn’t do anything for them.
Or you know, we go with legally he’s entitled to have the support go up, and by treating all the kids equal it helps nurture a loving and caring relationship for all the siblings that is helpful to Brit’s sons. But hey, what do i know? I’m just the child of a divorce and blended family.
Until further information pops up, team Federline. Never thought I’d write that sentence, lol. I like Britney’s music recently and she can almost dance again (her deadeye stiffjoint dancing in all the clips online her concerts is a bit off?) I’m rooting for her mental health. Yet, if she’s well enough to have kids unsupervised it’s so wrong not to get legal conservatorship of herself. Unless she’s not stable enough.
This lack of her own conservatorship makes it super-suspicious about why her team is not paying Federline – in context for super wealthy ppl – the money is really not that much compared to her wealth and ongoing back catalogue royalties. And it’s only for fourish more years. That’s a big red flag… the courts are the way to go now…and that seems like such a bad idea for Brits team. huh. Guess we’ll see soon!
The whole “Kevin needs a job to pay for his other kids” argument annoys me. Kevin is a dancer/DJ. He’s not going back to a 9-5 job in an office. If he goes back to work, who is going to take care of the kids? They can’t stay with their mother full-time…unless her Dad is going to take care of that, too? From what we can tell, Britney is still able to make this money and do her job the way she does because Kevin frequently has the boys. Why would she want Kevin out hustling for a job, which would threaten or (at least) change their entire arrangement?
@Emily OH come on. KFed and his wife are presumably healthy and neither of them work unless you count his being a DJ – which he does not HAVE to do. He could easily do what millions of people do which is go out and find a REAL job and work his way into being something. He is currently getting $20,000 a month (I am not disputing whether he could/should get more) which is quite enough to provide adequate care for their children. His wife does NOT work they are living off Britney’s dime, so I am sure she could help out too.
I agree. I’m just saying, if he and his wife start working, the childrens lives will change, and are Britney (and her father) prepared for those changes? Two people in the home with primary custody go from not working to working full time, someone, somewhere has to make some changes for the children.
@Emily as far as my understanding goes, Brittany also in addition to the support pays for their other expenses like tuition, etc. so I am sure nannies would be covered or they could work something out.
@winosauruseex Of course some expenses will be shared, no one is saying they should live in tents. But Britney is NOT responsible for his other children. It is HIS job to provide for them and ensure their well being and happiness. His other kids will need to learn that they are not entitled to things just because their dad had other children with a rich woman. What if she wants to give her kids a nice trip to Europe or a brand new Xbox, should she be obligated to buy those for all his other kids too? That is ridiculous imo. Now if she WANTS to care for his other kids then power to her, but their dad needs to play a role in providing for them as well, and not just by sticking his hand out for more cash.
winosaurus. What’s stopping Kevin AND his wife from working? Because neither of them are. They are not paying for their children, Britney is. If their children have ‘less’ than Britney’s boys, that’s on those children’s parents.
Don’t kid yourself. Britney is Kevin’s and his wife’s cash cow.
Agreed Winosaurusrex. I agree with Kaiser 100%.
Those boys are so adorable and at such a wonderful age. I love that age. How I wish my son were still at that point!
I with you and Kaiser. 20 thousand more a month out of hundreds of millions for another 6 years. It is stupid fight and plenty shady.
Definitely not team K-Fed. If Britney sees them 50% of the time it must mean that she is a capable parent. It seems like $240,000 a year is ample amount to raise 2 children.
legally she’s not because of the conservatorship. She’s legally not even able to take care of herself muchless her kids. This says nothing about reality, but legally she’s as much a child as her sons.
And I agree, $240,000 is ample-unless your co parent is someone making millions on millions. That’s what this is about. Not whether or not a family can survive on $240,000 but whether or not the kids can experience the same lifestyle with both parents. Child support is so the kids can be raised equally in two homes-particularly when we’re talking about people with this kind of money.
Again agreed.
Agreed. Sigh.
She’s legally a child with no rights as an adult and that means as a parent as well. Why that is ignored in these arguments makes no sense. He doesn’t have to allow her to see them since the court has deemed her not capable of self care.
Support is determined by her income, not by some arbitrary standard of expenses.
She may “see” them half the time but that doesn’t mean she has sole and unsupervised physical custody half the time, nor does she have the legal right to make decisions about their care.
Please remember that she is in a legal conservatorship (or whatever it’s called): The court appointed a guardian to make decisions for her life — her health care, her work, her living situation. The standard for appointment is very, very high so that means she was/would be very, very ill. She may be a loving parent but capable? Clearly not.
Shut up Kevin.
Geez, this guy is living in the lap of luxury most working people can only imagine and yet all he is doing lately is complaining.
Having the Mom have visitation with her kids does not make you a Saint. Lots of Moms in very difficult situations still work to have visitations for their kids Dads.
What a lousy bunch of money grabbing, gold-diggers Britney is surrounded by.
I actually feel sorry for Britney. Everyone around her seems to be in her life for the $$.
I really think all Britney wanted was to have kids and live a simple life. Instead she is treated like a walking ATM.
Britney has a serious mental illness. Sure, Kevin “got lucky” in terms of falling in love with a rich pop star, but it’s not likely he signed up to have 2 kids by an ex-wife with a serious psychiatric problem who is unable to share parenting duties with him. It’s not likely his life goal was to negotiate care and support for his kids by her with her controlling father. And he was fully allowed to fall in love again – with someone more stable, healthy, and capable of reciprocity – and have more children.
We can like her as a pop star and feel sympathy for her situation, but we really need to not underestimate how serious psychiatric disorders can make it impossible for people to undertake the tasks of everyday living. The image projected by a Las Vegas show and on social media are not telling the whole story. The judge and her family know the facts.
“…with someone more stable, healthy, and capable of reciprocity…”
And someone with a similar work ethic, too.
“…with someone more stable, healthy, and capable of reciprocity…”
Who also has her hand out for Britney’s money.
Everyone has their hands out for her money. That is her life. She is surrounded by vultures. I don’t know anything about Kevin’s wife so I can’t speak to her motives but she is their stepmother so I hope she does a good loving job with them.
Britney is under conservatorship, therefore, they cannot depose her….this is just a PR move. She does not handle her financial affairs – the people that do can be deposed but not her.
They can depose her, but it is not easy. She was eventually deposed in other legal matters previously after a long hard fight. Her team fought her depostions for years, before they finally agreed to let her speak. She may know very little about her finances so deposing her could be pointless.
On a separate note: My older son looooves the crap out of his dad, and me as well. And he would have LOST HIS SH!T if I’d just “not allowed him access” to his dad. We’re giving Kevin waaaay too much credit here and the kids not enough credit.
This. And if he did try to limit visitation due to a child support dispute, that would look really bad in court and he knows it. Don’t forget that California is 50/50 by default.
He is expecting prizes for acting like a decent person, doing what is best for the kids, and acring in accordance with court orders. it is gross really. Plus am sure he is happy for all the time the boys spend with Britney because it gets them out of his and his wife’s hair so they can focus on the others. He sounds more and more ridiculous and desperate by the day. Get a JOB.
I’m conflicted. Apparently Brit already pays for the house, the security, the schools so that is not coming out of KFed’s 20k per month. So what does he spend the money on and why does he need more? He’s obviously treating his wife and his other kids on britney’s money.
But he has had sole custody of the kids for a long time and there probably is a lot of work and extra issues with raising Britney spears’ kids. She has tons of money and probably spends that much a month on stupid rich person crap like purses and a private yoga instructor so why not pay him more.
I read somewhere, not sure if true, she also pays for KFeds other kids education so all the siblings can go to school together. So IF true it’s not to keep his kids in the same wealth either.
No, she doesn’t pay for the other kids’ education. He asked and they said No.
I don’t get all the back and forth in the press. Ask for more, the court decides. The end. There is nothing gained by either group going to the press as again it’s court ordered.
So Im team Britney as I think this tabloid war is Jaime v KFed. And i think Brit just wants to eat pancakes with her boys and enjoy them.
Here’s my thing that Kevin’s lawyers can’t deny:
Britney pays his rent. She pays the boys school. She pays for their clothes. She pays for toys. All in addition to paying him child support. So no: he does not NEED or DESERVE triple child support for honoring their custody agreement to support the other 4 children he chose to have with other women.
My husband’s an attorney (not in California) and I told him about this situation and asked him what he thought a judge would do. He said if it’s true that she’s paying for housing, school, activities, doctors, dentists, etc. IN ADDITION to paying $20,000/month in child support, a judge would probably laugh Federline out of their courtroom – especially considering KFed’s married and neither he nor his wife are working and have two children together. On top of that, he is probably responsible for child support to Shar for the two children he has with her, yet has no outside income other than the support he receives from Brittany.
It’s the fact Kevin and his wife are not working, meaning there is no money coming in to pay Shar or their living expenses that will hurt Kevin’s chances of receiving a substantial child support increase.
Brittany’s income may not have increased at all over the years. Just because her company is making money, doesn’t mean her personal income has increased and that is what child support is based on.
That’s where I stand on this issue. If she is paying for all of this in addition to the $20,000 for child support, I don’t understand where his legal standing is.
That’s probably why this is all playing out in the court of public opinion.
Is Avenatti one of his lawyers? If not, then I lost interest in this story… Sorry not sorry 🙂
Hahaha. 🙂
I hear you 😍
Kevin is getting a lot of praise simply for being a decent parent. Is the bar that low that common decency towards one’s own children is considered exceptional parenting and should be rewarded monetarily?
Anywho, I want to know how he is paying Shar the child support for their two kids that she sued him for. I firmly believe it isn’t Britney’s responsibility to care for his other 4 children nor his unemployed wife nor his part-time working self.
Also, Britney being in a conservatorship makes things much more complicated. Not sure why that is being glossed over. Jamie can’t just pay more cause Kevin demands so. It all has to go through the courts and it takes a long time & usually a lot of back and forth with attorneys requesting things. IIRC from my own experience dealing with a conservatorship situation in California, the court won’t just want documents on her income and expenses but will also demand that he submit his expenses as part of the support increase request. This will all be reviewed by a judge before a decision is made. The PR battle is stupid cause Jamie can’t just pay more cause that isn’t how conservatorships and finances work. Jamie can’t do anything that court hasn’t signed off on first.
For men? Yes.
She looks sooooo tired. Those are some deep worry lines. Give him the money and keep Brit Brit happy.
No she should not just pay him more money because he has been generous with visitation. Children have rights and seeing both parents is one of their rights. Even parents whose kids have been taken by the state and placed in the system have supervised visitation. I know it’s not the same type of situation. And unfortunately some parents accused of abuse still have rights to visitation😕. It would be hard to try and take her visitation away now after he’s been so “generous”.
The court should decide what if any increase he will receive in child support. Her sources have made it a point lately to say that all the kids expenses are paid for by Britney in addition to the child support so hopefully that is taken into consideration.
No Kevin will never be able to make the same amount of money Britney does but that does not excuse him and his wife from not working (I’ve read his wife does not work). There is daycare, school, babysitters, family, so many resources they could use for child care while one or both pursue a degree/get a job. I’m curious to know what ppl suggest happen after Britney’s boys are 18-should Britney make one final large payment to Kevin so they can all continue to live the way they’ve become accustomed?
His other kids benefit already but I don’t support the idea that Britney should support her kids, him and his wife and all his other kids.
I am still back at square one, confused as to how someone so mentally ill they must be under legal conservatorship is allowed to be trotted out to perform hundred of concerts over the last ten years. She’s generated millions and millions, and yet no amount of money seems to have been enough to spend on treatment to stabilize her condition enough to put her back in control of her life. I’ve never understood what’s going on.
Every time I see your name @adastraperaspera, it puzzles me for a minute while I try to figure out how to pronounce it. I feel like I am casting a Harry Potter spell saying it:) Last night I looked it up. I hope you’re well.
I think it has to do with protecting her against Sam Lufti, or someone just like him. If Britney’s father had not stepped in when he did, Britney’s estate would have been drained and she probably would have joined the countless other celebrities that die of drug overdoses way too young. That is where Sam Lufti was taking her and I think as long as she is under a conservatorship, people like that cannot take advantage of her.
What is going on is greed. There is so much shady in this whole setup. There is clearly an abuse of the conservatorship laws and over the years there have been articles questioning the whole thing. Very valid questions and concerns about Britney’s welfare. It is highly unusual and questionable for a conservatorship to go on this long while the person is working the hours and type of job she does making the amounts of money she is making. Her work schedule is grueling and exhausting and she has no life. What part of paid boyfriends is normal? She can perform but not do interviews alone?
I feel like a broken record so I won’t go on like I did on the other posts but it is frustrating to read the excuses being made for the people making millions off of a sick woman. Her father included. There are so many ways around laws and it includes giving oneself several titles and paying oneself a salary for all of them.
Has the era of 45 taught the public nothing about how very wealthy people do what they want and do not live by the rules of law normal people do?
It doesn’t matter who has how many kids from whom and who pays for this or that or what is a reasonable amount if money needed per month to raise 2 kids. All that matters is that child support is supposed to be based on a formula set forth by the state in which the custody hearing was held. Apply the formula, do the math- if one parent’s income changes, adjustment to the amount paid out for child support is supposed to change. If one parent’s income goes up, the payments go up. If that income gets reduced, the payments are adjusted accordingly- unless the paying parent has NO income, in which case that parent is still expected to pay whatever the across-the-board minimum amount the state has already set.
That system is supposed to be the same for everyone. It either works for everyone or it doesn’t work. Britney Spears shouldn’t be an exception. I’m sure extenuating circumstances exist, and that’s what court is for. But feeling some type of way isn’t an extenuating circumstance requiring adjudication.
Let’s do a little math. Britney is purported to be worth $215 million. Kevin wants his support increased from $20K per month to $60K per month. For Britney this is an increase from .0001 to .0003 of her wealth. To put that in perspective for us normal people, let’s say making $100K per year, increasing support from .0001 to .0003 would be an increase from $10/month to $30/month.
Just pay it and keep the peace.
I’m no accountant but you get the idea.
I understand that KFed has been a decent father but I tell you what….he hit the gravy train when he had kids with Britney Spears. I wonder what he’s going to do when those kids hit 18 and Britney no longer has to fund his life.
Team Nobody.
I think it’s stupid for Jaime to not just pay him the increase, even if it burns to consider the reality that he’s supporting his other kids on it. Don’t get me wrong – I suspect she’s paying for plenty else than just the child support, but it’s not worth the fight unless it’s seriously undermining her financial position.
This being said, KFed is a douche for using his children as counterplay, and both he and his wife are both idiots for thinking it’s a smart PR move for both of them to be at home barely working while asking for more money.
Not a lot of great characters in this tragedy. I am team I hope Britney get healthy one day. She is heartbreaking to look at these days. She looks raggedy and unkempt, unhealthy, uncared for and not lucid. Her eyes are truly frightening.