Everyone's favorite teenage drama-queen-pop-star, Britney Spears, is marrying her 40-year-old former agent Jason Trawick, reports the Houston Chronicle. This is her third marriage.
Trawick and Spears ("Tears"? "Sick?") met during the course of Britney's marriage to Kevin Federline. Federline is the father of Britney's two children, reports the Daily Mail. He also has children by two other women.
The marriage of Britney and Trawick ("Brick?") will mean that Trawick and Federline will have to get along for the sake of Britney's children. But since celebrities are notorious for not working things out quietly between themselves, this might mean a new round of litigation in court, this time to determine what should be the new shared custody arrangement. Will it be a joint custody situation?
In true "joint custody" arrangements, parents share equal "legal custody" and "physical custody" rights. This means that parents participate equally in making decisions about the child's upbringing and welfare, and split time evenly in having day-to-day care and responsibility for the child -- including the parent's right to have the child live with them.
Much more common than true joint custody arrangements (where both physical and legal custody are shared) is "joint legal custody," in which both parents share the right to make long-term decisions about the raising of a child and key aspects of the child's welfare, with physical custody awarded to one parent.
No doubt once the Britney and Trawick marriage has happened (and reality shows have been filmed) the issue of the children will come up again. In the meantime, celebrations and congratulations are in order.
Related Resources:
- Find a Houston Family Law attorney (FindLaw)
- Child Custody Basics (FindLaw)
- Physical Custody (FindLaw)
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