Kevin Federline wants Britney Spears to once again play a major role in their children's lives. Just not a bigger role than his.
K-Fed's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, spoke exclusively to E! News in the wake of Thursday's all-day mediation session, in which both sides were seeking to hash out a custody agreement in advance of an August trial.
"Kevin is seeking to maintain the sole legal and physical custody that he presently has," Kaplan said. "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."
Which, ideally, would give the 30-year-old Federline full custody, simply making permanent the present temporary order.
"Kevin has had sole legal custody since January. 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."
Namely, allowing Spears, 26, overnight visitation with sons Sean Preston and Jayden James, which will begin Saturday night. In addition to the sleepover, she is also allowed two day visits per week.
For his part, Kaplan said Federline is more than happy to give the stabilized Spears not only more custody rights but the ability to be "involved in their lives in a very substantial and meaningful way," and credits the conservatorship with her recent turnaround.
"He wants to have an order...that takes into account a certain stability and structure for the kids...regardless of whose house they happen to be in at any given moment.
"When the conservatorship was imposed, it brought a certain sense of structure and stability to an environment that seemed to be continually in flux. And in flux is not a description of what you want for a child's environment."
But while Thursday's mediation didn't result in any brokered accords—it would have been surprising if it had—it did get both parties started on the right path to like-mindedness.
"The mediation didn't result in an agreement that would avoid the trial set in August...The mood was comfortable, positive and it was a mood that was consistent with opening at least a great dialogue, which is necessary."
As for what would call off this summer's planned court date...
"The trial in August is going to determine two primary issues," Kaplan said. "Custody and visitation, and attorneys' fees...In order to avoid the trial in all respects, there would have to be an agreement between the parties to resolve the attorneys' fees, and to put in place a custody arrangement that would carry forward...an expansion of the visitation.
"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."
Source: Eonline.com
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