There are a lot of changes that’ll come with the end of Britney Spears’ conservatorship, but, her custody agreement with ex-husband Kevin Federline may not be one of them, according to family law attorney Sabrina Saheen Cronin.
Britney Spears, 39, is getting closer to enjoying life on her own terms. With her estranged father, Jamie Spears, recently getting suspended as one of her conservators, she is one step closer to being a completely free woman. And now that her assets and life are being re-evaluated, the lingering question remains — what will happen with her two sons? According to family law attorney Sabrina Shaheen Cronin, who is the founder and managing partner of The Cronin Law Firm, JD, MBA, it’s likely that Britney’s custody agreement with ex-husband Kevin Federline, 43, will remain the same. Mainly due to the fact that “conservatorship or not, changing child custody does not happen overnight.”
“Though the end of the conservatorship might be a change in circumstances, there are multiple factors that California courts consider when determining what is in the best interest of minor children whose parents are separated or divorced,” Sabrina EXCLUSIVELY tells HollywoodLife. “Those factors include considerations such as the health, safety, and welfare of the children, the nature and amount of contact with both parents, ability to financially support the children, demonstrated parental responsibility, emotional involvement with the children, and the children’s preference.”
The “Oops I Did It Again” vocalist shares two boys, Sean Preston Federline, 16, and Jayden James Federline, 15, with Kevin. Although Britney lost custody of her sons in 2007, she was awarded joint custody once again with the creation of her conservatorship; then in 2019, Kevin was granted 70% and Britney 30% of parenting time. Due to the age of their children, the opinion of Sean and Jayden will be afforded “great weight, and it will take more than the end of a conservatorship to convince a court that the lifestyle the boys are accustomed to needs to change,” Sabrina shares.
“Since the children have been with Kevin most of the time for the past several years, they likely will have a strong preference to keep the current arrangement in place because they are comfortable with their lifestyle,” Sabrina continues. “Britney’s conservatorship has been in place for years as her boys have been growing up and, as teenagers, they are now used to their lifestyle and seeing their mother when it is mutually convenient.”
Over the years, her two boys have primarily stayed out of the limelight until Kevin’s friend, CEO of Movision Entertainment Eddie Morales shared a rare pic of the boys on Oct. 5. The two were all grown up and put their smiles on full display over the series of photos. “During times of grief knowing u have #family really feels worth living,” Eddie began his Instagram caption. “Talk bout seeing my nephews when they were pods smaller then [sic] my hands now look at #life.”