Sherri Shepherd, host of the television show, “The View,” finds herself in a two-front conflict with an ex-husband and an estranged one. Her ex-husband is challenging her for custody of their 9-year-old son, and her estranged husband wants physical custody of a child yet to be born.
Shepherd’s ex-husband recently requested an emergency modification of the child custody order, because he felt his ex-wife was neglecting their son due to her heavy work schedule. According to the father, the child has special needs; he asserts that the mother leaves the boy in the care of nannies not trained to meet those needs.
Shepherd claims that her ex-husband has been absent as a father, and that he does not have the capacity to parent their child. A judge denied the father’s emergency request, but has set a future hearing regarding child custody.
The star’s current husband, whom she married three years ago and is currently divorcing, has filed papers demanding full physical custody of the couple’s unborn child, who is being carried by a surrogate. He is making some of the same accusations as those that are found in the first husband’s court papers in his request for legal custody.
Court filings relating to Shepherd’s current divorce proceedings have brought to light disputes about proposed amendments to the couple’s prenuptial agreement, requested by her husband, which she refused to sign. In what appears likely to be a messy divorce, the husband has accused her of fraud in an attempt to invalidate the prenuptial agreement.
Few child custody disputes are as complex and acrimonious as this celebrity’s, but some can be just as contentious and difficult. Attorneys can, in such circumstances, help Virginia couples to craft custody agreements that are in the best interests of the children involved.
Source: Examiner, “Sherri Shepherd in two custody battles with ex-husband and estranged husband,” by Margaret Minnicks, May 20, 2014