Kevin Federline's lawyer says he's never interfered with Britney Spears' 13-year conservatorship.
Mark Vincent Kaplan, who represents Spears' ex-husband of three years, opened up in a new interview about the DJ's goals for the former couple's kids, Sean, 15, and Jayden, 14 amid the controversial court battle over the pop star's personal and financial affairs.
"Kevin was not involved in the conservatorship, and he was not an agent of the conservator or anybody on that side of the probate case," Kaplan told Page Six. "All along, Kevin has had one goal and that was to make it more likely, as soon as reasonable, that he and Britney could have a successful co-parenting relationship regarding the kids."
Kaplan added that his client has "never threatened anything" when it comes to his and Spears' children, and has only made decisions "for the sake and health and well-being of the kids."
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The attorney stressed that Federline "has never used his children as pawns for anything," insisting that their two boys have "always" been his top priority.
Britney Spears was married to Kevin Federline from 2004-2007. The former couple shares two children: Sean Preston and Jayden James. (J. Merritt/FilmMagic)
Earlier this week, Kaplan told Fox News Federline does have concerns regarding the idea of the "Toxic" singer regaining full control of her life "without any expert evaluation," days after Spears addressed the court and made a plea to the judge that she wants her conservatorship to end without being psychologically examined.
"I’ve seen it reported that Britney wants [the conservatorship] terminated without any expert evaluation," Kaplan told us. "One thing that I can imagine will engender a further dialogue should it be terminated is that I know she had revealed in the statement she made that she had been put on lithium, and I think, as you can imagine, lithium is regarded as a very powerful psychotropic medication."
Meanwhile, over the weekend a transcript leaked online from the fan account @Meaner03 consisting of an interview with Spears' former manager Larry Rudolph. According to the documents via Page Six, Rudolph described Federline as a "necessary party" in the 2008 intervention of Spears following her breakdown.
"Kevin was brought on that call because he was going to be involved in the planning — I’m sorry, the execution, I should say, of that intervention," Rudolph allegedly said in the leaked documents via the outlet. "He was a necessary party. There were no legal issues discussed. There were no — nothing to that — nothing in that order. Only discussion about the execution of the intervention."
James P. Spears, otherwise known as Jamie, was appointed his daughter’s conservator in 2008.
Rudolph continued: "Kevin had already, through his attorney, come forward and said, ‘I’m putting my foot down. Unless she goes to rehab … if she doesn’t get help, I’m taking those kids away.'"
Kaplan recalled an event that occurred in 2008 when Federline showed up to Spears' house and she "locked herself in the bathroom with the boys."
The attorney said Federline requested sole custody after the incident "because he didn’t feel the children were safe."
The 39-year-old singer addressed the court for the first time in recent years on June 23. During the virtual hearing in a Los Angeles Superior Court, Spears expressed her desire to have her conservatorship end. Her attorney, Samuel Ingham III, said during the hearing Spears has not officially asked him to file a petition to end the conservatorship. It appears the petition still has yet to be filed.
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Kaplan discussed what it would mean for the former couple's custody agreement should the conservatorship come to an end. He said it's "always modifiable, based on the best interest of the child."
He also repeated his client's concerns with the medical care Spears has received.
"Would the fact alone of the conservatorship being terminated in and of itself make Kevin agree to change the existing custody order? No," he said. "Kevin needs to be able to have some information to inform his judgment on what that order should be."
Federline currently has "at a minimum" 70% custody while Spears has 30%. Kaplan added that Federline's team would need "a lot of information" they currently don't have. However, he said Sean and Preston are "doing very well" with their dad.
"They see their mom, and the termination of the conservatorship in and of itself, in my view, would not be a change of circumstances warranting to change custody," the attorney added.
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There has been movement in Spears' conservatorship case since the June 23 hearing. On Wednesday, the judge overseeing the case shot down the pop icon's request to remove her father Jamie as conservator.
Britney Spears addressed the court on June 23 declaring she wants her conservatorship to end. (J. Merritt/Getty Images for GLAAD)
"The conservator’s request to suspend James P. Spears immediately upon the appointment of Bessemer Trust Company of California as sole conservator of estate is denied without prejudice," the court documents, which were obtained by Fox News, state.
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Spears’ court-appointed lawyer, Sam Ingham, asked the court to replace Jamie Spears with the Bessemer Trust. According to TMZ, Ingham reportedly only recently filed paperwork requesting that Bessemer be appointed as a co-conservator, which was approved, though the outlet reports that additional paperwork to make Bessemer's role official has yet to be filed.
Kevin Federline 'never' used his and Britney Spears sons as 'pawns' in conservatorship, lawyer says - Fox News
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