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EXCLUSIVE: Britney's Divorce Final, But K-Fed Still May Fight For Full Custody
Monday July 30, 2007

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline (top) High powered family law attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan (bottom)
LAN / Retna Ltd.; Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Britney Spears' divorce from Kevin Federline is now official. Lawyers for both Spears, 25, and Federline, 29, were present at a Los Angeles Superior court today when a judge signed the papers that legally ended their clients' marriage.

Commissioner Scott M. Gordon also granted Spears’ request to seal the child custody agreement ”for the interest in the safety of the children.” Gordon granted the request temporarily so they can have a full hearing on the matter on Aug. 14.

Spears' lawyer Laura Wasser told reporters, "The divorce is final. [Britney] is okay with the arrangement. She would like to be with the kids more. She said that. [She] thinks [Federline] would like that too."

But while today's decision allows the exes to continue with shared custody of their children, a source close to Federline says he may seek full custody. "[Federline's] attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan...has been watching and monitoring Britney’s behavior very closely," says the source. "There is a clause in the divorce so either parent can seek full custody and it is very possible that you will see Kaplan seeking full custody for Kevin as early as this week...Kevin is extremely concerned with Britney’s erratic behavior and he needs to make sure his kids are protected. Britney has not met the benchmarks for sobriety that [were] outlined in the agreement."

Spears filed for divorce from Federline on November 7, 2006, after just two years of marriage. Citing “irreconcilable differences,” she asked for both legal and physical custody of the children, with reasonable visitation rights for Federline.

As Us reported at the time, Federline and Spears’ mom, Lynne, threatened to take emergency custody of the couple’s children in order to get Spears to go in (and stay in) a rehab program in February. During that period, the kids visited her regularly.

In March, Spears and Federline came to an out-of-court settlement which gave the couple shared custody of 22 month-old Sean Preston and 10 month-old Jayden James. Reportedly, the financial aspects of the split were simple due to an iron-clad prenup.

In a letter written on her website in May, Spears told fans that “when [the marriage] was gone...I genuinely did not know what to do with myself, and it made me so sad. I confess, I was so lost.”

Given the events of last week, in which Spears took Sean and Jayden to Vegas without the requisite permission from Federline, only to get involved in a scuffle between her bodyguard and the paparazzi, it seems "lost" would aptly describe her current state as well.

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