Posts Tagged ‘mark vincent kaplan’

OK! Exclusive: Britney’s Boys to Join Her in Europe

May 5th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

Two months ago, when Britney Spears embarked on her first concert tour in almost five years, she was joined by two of her biggest — and littlest! — supporters: her young sons Jayden James and Sean Preston.

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And now that Brit is wrapping up the North American leg of her tour, OK! can exclusively reveal that the pop superstar will continue to have her boys cheering her on when she heads to Europe in June.

In an exclusive interview in the next issue of OK! — on sale everywhere Thursday — Mark Vincent Kaplan, attorney for Brit’s ex-husband Kevin Federline reveals that his client is "more than happy to help facilitate Britney being able to see the boys on the European leg of the tour."

Kaplan admits that, though Kevin has custody of the two boys, he realizes that Britney "should not have to sacrifice visits with her boys while pursuing her career. Kevin has even been able to make sure that Britney can maintain the boys’ regular schedule, even though she’s on tour."

For the entire story — including the family’s living arrangements — be sure to pick up the next issue of OK!, on sale everywhere Thursday.

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K-Fed’s Atty Talks Jayden’s Hospitalization

November 11th, 2008

Kevin Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, is speaking out about the recent hospitalization of K-Fed’s son Jayden James, including why Federline never made it out to Louisiana.

In an interview with E!, Kaplan says Jayden’s illness appears to have been a "food allergy" but that Kevin plans to take his son to a local pediatrician as soon as he returns.

CLICK HERE for OK!’s Ultimate Britney Gallery!

"I think whatever it is, a food allegery or some other case, we don’t know yet," Kaplan said. "We’re pleased that someone was aware enough to see that he was having some sort of reaction and do what was necessary to make sure there were no chances taken and got Jayden to the appropriate facility and got the appropriate evaluation to be timely."

Kaplan says that K-Fed has no plans to call a hearing to investigate what went wrong.

"When you have kids it would be impossible for there to be some theoretcial concept of negligence going on–a child falls down, anything that happens that way," Kaplan said. "We’re not going to jump to conclusions right now…I don’t anticipate there being a hearing. I anticipate that Kevin and Britney [Spears] as concerned parents will exchange information and satisfy themselves that what happened was a freak occurance and do what they have to do to make sure that it doesn’t happen again."

When Jayden, 2, was first taken to the hospital, there were rumors that Britney couldn’t reach Kevin. But Kaplan says the father of four was in the loop the entire time.

"Kevin was considering going to Louisiana, but the information that we had was Jayden was already checked out," he says. "When Kevin first learned about it he was planning on going out there the day after, but by the time that is came around, it appeared that there wasn’t a need. There wasn’t an emergency. He was willing to wait and see what happened when she [Britney] got back."

CLICK HERE to see OK!’s Ultimate Britney Gallery!

 
So when are Jayden and Sean Preston due to return to dad? "The kids will be back with Kevin shortly, not yet," Kaplan says.

OK! Exclusive: Britney Ends Fight to Win Back Custody

July 18th, 2008

In a shocking new development, OK! has learned exclusively that Britney Spears has ended her battle to win back custody of her children, Sean Preston and Jayden James, from ex-husband Kevin Federline.

In an exclusive interview with OK!, Kevin’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan says both Britney and Kevin reached and signed off on a settlement in their custody case today.

Kaplan tells OK!, "At about 8 p.m. PT, a final settlement in the Kevin Federline-Britney Spears custody case was signed. All parties have agreed to the following: Kevin will retain sole legal and physical custody of Sean Preston and Jayden James. Britney will continue to have visitation rights which may increase over time. The agreement will be presented to the court in the morning for approval by the commissioner."

Kaplan adds, "Kevin is ecstatic and the boys are thriving."

Britney, who remains under the legal conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears, lost custody of her sons to Kevin last October. At the time she had visitation privileges but they were severely restricted following her January hospitalization for psychiatric evaluation.

She currently has monitored visitation with her sons two days a week and one overnight.

K-Fed’s Lawyer: Meeting Was a “Positive” Step

June 27th, 2008

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline’s top-secret meeting on Thursday was a "positive" step towards a custody agreement, Kevin’s lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan tells E!.

"The mediation didn’t result in an agreement that would avoid the trial set in August," he says. "The mood was comfortable, positive and it was a mood that was consistent with opening at least a great dialogue, which is necessary."

Although the meeting went well, Mark is quick to point out that neither party budged when it came to the custody status, as OK! has reported. Kevin still intends to maintain legal and physical custody of Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, with Britney have visitation, which now includes overnights.

"Kevin has had sole legal custody since January," Kapan tells E! "He wants that to become the permanent order at trial, and the visitation to be consistent with what the court expanded it to this week."

He continues, "There’s nothing magical about 50-50. There’s nothing magical about 60-40. What’s magical is that whatever order is in place, it’s the order that best suits the best interest of the children."

The August trial date will iron out the two outstanding issues: custody and visitation and attorneys’ fees. Because Thursday’s meeting reached a stalemate, Mark expects the trial to take place.

"If the existing arrangement was acceptable to both parties, we would have an agreement, and we wouldn’t have to go to trial… but that didn’t happen."

VIDEO: Kevin’s Lawyer Discusses Britney’s New Visitation Rights

May 12th, 2008

Britney Spears‘ newly acquired "expanded" visitation time with her sons Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, "reflects improvement," Kevin Federline’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan says.

"It’s a significant difference. I can’t say exactly what the schedules are, but it’s a significant change," Mark tells the Today show Monday morning. "It reflects improvement."

Britney was granted more time with her sons last week, a huge step in the right direction for the recovering pop star. While Mark couldn’t go into the specifics of the agreement, he did reveal that the 26-year-old spent Mother’s Day with her sons.

"I think that it was something that was important to Kevin that the kids be with their mother on Mother’s Day as [they will be with their] father on Father’s Day," he said.

Once again reiterating it has always been Kevin’s intent for him and Brit to "participate" in the boys’ lives together, Mark adds that these expansions don’t come easily.

"Kevin’s policy are that automatic step-ups aren’t warranted. You have to look at what the circumstances are at the time the request for a step-up is coming to see that the step-up is warranted by the status quo at that time."

As for the status of Brit and K-Fed’s once-contentious relationship, Mark notes a certain "camaraderie" between them. "If you’re going to have two kids participate in the lives of raising their children, there has to be some camaraderie between them for that to be a meaningiful expectation and reality."

And how are the boys?

"I think the kids are doing great," he says. "I think that they are able to have a normal life and are progressing that way — as normal as that can be."

Britney & K-Fed to Square Off in Court Today

May 5th, 2008 / Author: OK! Staff

When Britney Spears and her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, walk into the courtroom Tuesday, it will mark the first time in more than half a year that both parents of little Sean Preston and Jayden James Federline have sat before Commissioner Scott Gordon in their seemingly neverending custoday battle.

Britney did make two aborted attempts to attend hearings before being remanded to psychiatric care — and the supervision of her father — several months ago.

On the agenda for tomorrow’s hearing is the matter of the pop star’s long-awaited, court-ordered psychiatric evaluation, which should include detailed medical reports on her mental state, as well as observations on her parenting skills.

Sources close to the case reveal to OK! that the results are a "mixed bag" — Brit-Brit has finally learned how to make her boys the focus of her attention. But, says the source, doctors feel she still has mental issues to contend with.

The evaluation, which lawyers for both sides of the case have had for two week, and which will almost certainly be discussed in a closed court, exists to aid Commissioner Gordon in ruling on Britney’s requests for more visits and possible overnight stays with her young sons.

Currently, the 26-year-old singer has no formal custody, though she does enjoy several, supervised, multiple-hour visits during the week.

K-Fed’s lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, tells OK! that his client is fine with more visits — but not right away.

"She needs to prove herself over time," he explains. "We need to see that there is consistency and stablility over a substantial amount of time, a slow ramping-up and not a spike."

Kaplan does commend Brit’s father Jamie Spears for the work he’s done in stabilizing his daughter. However, he and Kevin would like to see more than two months of good behavior before agreeing to alter their current set-up in any substantial way.

Britney’s father and lawyers remain in legal control of her personal and financial affairs until an evaluation hearing on July 31. The actual trial for custody is not yet scheduled, but Kaplan has said in the past that it won’t be until sometime in September.

K-Fed & Jamie Spears Play Nice

March 10th, 2008 / Author: cwillett

In a move that surprised many onlookers Monday morning, Britney Spears‘ ex-husband Kevin Federline actually shook the hand of his former father-in-law Jamie Spears, as the two met and chatted casually before the latest in a seemingly neverending string of hearings regarding the custody of K-Fed and Britney’s two boys, Sean Preston and Jayden James.

While Kevin and Jamie have never been the best of buddies, insiders say that the recent decision to allow Brit to see the boys several times a week has eased a little of the tension caused by the nasty divorce and bitter custody war. The pair even reportedly played some golf together over the weekend.

However, inside today’s custody hearing, the mood was a little less than friendly, as Jamie and Brit’s newest legal eagle, divorce diva Stacy Phillips, disputed the sky-high legal bills being presented by both Kevin’s lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, and Britney’s former lawyers at the firm of Trope & Trope.

Under court order, Britney is to foot the majority of Kevin’s legal bills in the case, which to date total around $500,000. And the folks at Trope are claiming invoices in the area of $600,000. Before the courtroom was shut to reporters, Phillips argued that Kaplan is only due somewhere between $150,000 and $175,000.

In his defense, Kaplan, who says he is only requesting to be paid $405,000, argued that his bills were so unexpectedly high because he had to attend eight separate emergency hearings called by Trope, plus time in court to deal with the singer’s drug testing issues, her court-ordered hospitalizations, the restraining orders. He claimed that if Phillips would go through the eight boxes of pleadings and filings since October, she’d see the fees are very reasonable, "given the fact that this is not a simple custody case. Simple custody cases don’t require court-ordered monitors. If this is a simple case, I’m in big trouble." K-Fed’s lawyer also pointed out that his hourly rate is less than the $700 per hour charged by Phillips.

Phillips countered by saying that Kevin "uses his business as a personal checkbook," allegedly spending $20,000 on jewelry, and leaving a $2,000 tip for a $365 meal. "That tip should have been used to pay his lawyers," said Phillips.

Brit’s lawyer also argued Kaplan’s habit of giving post-hearing press conferences is costing Britney money. And while Kaplan says he’s never charged a dime for speaking to the media, Phillips replied that his "strategy of talking to the press creates more hoopla, more fees, more problems for the court and increases fees on Ms. Spears."

Following the hearing, a spokesman for the court told OK! that Commissioner Gordon had not ruled on the payment issue but had "taken it under submission," and that a ruling is not likely to come down today.

Additionally, the court confirmed that Kevin was sworn in today, and did indeed answer a few questions, as did Jamie. However, no changes have been made to the existing visitation agreement.

Later this afternoon, Jamie is back in court for more in that other bit of Britney business — the conservatorship. Stay tuned for details.

Britney Regains Visitation Rights

February 22nd, 2008 / Author: cwillett

In what OK! has learned was a deal more than a week in the making, a judge has ruled that Britney Spears will once again receive visitation rights with her sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James. Under the ruling, Britney can see her boys in a "theraputic setting" — meaning, among other stipulations, that Jamie Spears and Brit’s psychiatrist must be present.

Kevin Federline is reportedly on board with the commissioner’s decision and is, along with lawyers for both sides, impressed at Jamie’s ability to quiet the whirlwind surrounding Britney’s life.

K-Fed’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan tells OK! exclusively that today’s ruling would never have happened if Jamie hadn’t stepped in to stabilize his daughter.

"Obviously this wouldn’t have happened if Jamie Spears wasn’t involved but there’s much more to it than those two people being present,” Kaplan tells OK! exclusively. "Let’s just say that my partner Jim Simon and I put lots of specific terms, conditions and protections in place that go far beyond those two people being present."

So how soon will Britney get to see her boys? "Britney very,very soon will be seeing her boys again," Kaplan tell OK!. "At the moment we are waiting for the orders to be signed and faxed by the judge and assuming that we receive that tonight, visitation will happen very quickly.”

 

 

Source: K-Fed Might Allow Brit to See Kids

February 19th, 2008 / Author: cwillett

UPDATE: After this morning’s session, a representative for the court announced that there had been no change in visitation. However, as lawyer’s for both sides head back into court, it’s unclear if the issue is completely off the table for the day.

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Sources close to the Britney Spears custody case are confirming to OK! that the singer’s ex-husband Kevin Federline might not fight her request to regain some visitation privileges to her two boys — provided that her father is present.

As OK! had previously reported, sources were saying that K-Fed and his legal team were considering the idea of allowing Britney to have some personal time with Sean Preston, 2, and 1-year-old Jayden James and it looks like that time might come sooner rather than later, so long as the visitation is supervised by the boys’ grandfather, Jamie Spears, who has shown remarkable conviction in keeping his previously unpredictable daughter in-line since being named her conservator almost three weeks ago.

Right now, Britney’s father, their lawyers and K-Fed’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan are behind closed doors in the courtroom. A press conference is expected later this afternoon.

Stay tuned to OK! as this story continues to develop.

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