In the midst of her pending divorce from ex-Kanye West, Kim Kardashian “may win complete custody” of their four children, according to legal experts.
This comes after the 45-year-old musician skipped his November 16 deposition.
The judge takes avoiding a deposition in court seriously, especially if it is a recurring offense, according to Rachel Fiset, managing partner of Zweiback, Fiset & Zalduendo LLP, who spoke to The Sun.
Before a two-day trial on December 14, West, who is now known legally as Ye, will have one more opportunity to appear in court on November 29. However, if the fashion designer is unable to show up once more, Kim, 42, may be one step closer to being given full custody of North, 9, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 3.
Family law attorney Lexie Rigden also applied her professional experience as she told the outlet: ‘If Kanye refuses to show up to his deposition, the Judge could sanction him monetarily, make him pay counsel fees, and if it is an egregious enough discovery violation, the judge may be able to bar him from putting on a case at trial.’
She warned, ‘For two very wealthy people who do not need each other’s money, the custody issues will be most important.’
Rigden noted, ‘In most divorce cases, the parties are able to at least work out some of the issues. But, given his behavior and apparent unreasonableness, everything may be in dispute, from custody to distribution of assets.’
Acknowledging the former couple’s extreme wealth, she stated, ‘For two very wealthy people who do not need each other’s money, the custody issues will be most important.’
The lawyer referenced the Yeezy creator’s social media tirades as she said, ‘His disparaging posts about Kim and her family in the media, and his nonsensical proposals including that the children attend two different schools at once, are going to likely be used to show that he cannot reasonably co-parent and does not have the children’s best interests in mind.’
Fiset clarified, ‘After Kanye skipped this deposition, they’ve given him one more date to appear.
‘If he doesn’t, he may face sanctions during their upcoming trial, such as a fine or a monetary award to Ms. Kardashian, and/or he may have the facts which they were trying to uncover during the deposition change into admissions against him.
‘If he is trying to avoid giving information that would hurt his case by skipping a deposition, a judge might automatically determine that the bad information is a fact inside of the trial, because he was uncooperative.’
The lawyer continued, ‘In severe instances, it can be contempt, which can either be civil or criminal as determined by the judge.
‘Overall, this can hurt his case. In the most severe instance, the judge can rule against him and he could get a lesser custody award and a less favorable monetary disposition.
‘But more likely, the judge will simply determine that the facts Kim Kardashian alleges are true, and not give him the chance to defend himself.’
The former couple is working on how to share their more than $2billion in combined assets after seven years of marriage.
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