Katie better have a secret weapon up her sleeve proving that Tom is an unfit parent if she wants to win sole custody of Suri, according to celebrity divorce attorney Vikki Ziegler, author of ‘The Premarital Planner’!
Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are starting an ugly divorce battle over custody of their daughter Suri Cruise, 6! But Katie will have an uphill battle involving two huge hurdles in order to win sole primary and physical custody of Suri!
On Friday June 29, Katie — in a surprise move even to her husband Tom — filed for divorce in New York City, asking for sole custody and primary residential custody of Suri! Now, a new report says that Tom, 49, will fire back by filing for divorce and joint custody of Suri in California!
According to divorce attorney Vikki Ziegler, Katie most likely filed for divorce in New York state because the courts are slightly more open to awarding full custody to a parent, whereas in California, the courts are more favorable to joint custody.
But before Katie, 33, can even go to court in New York, she’s going to have to fend off Tom’s challenge to have the divorce case decided in California! Tom is going to try and prove that the couple’s primary residence has been in Los Angeles and therefore, the divorce and custody must be decided in California!
“Katie needs to prove that she has lived full-time in New York City for a year for the divorce to be decided here,” explains Ziegler. The judge will look at what state her driver’s license is registered in, where her taxes are filed, and what’s her main mailing address!
Also, hopefully, Katie and Tom’s prenup doesn’t state that any divorce must be done in California, otherwise, the prenup will determine where their divorce case is heard!
“Since Katie filed first, it’s up to Tom to prove if California is, in fact, the proper jurisdiction and Katie doesn’t meet the residency requirements,” says Ziegler. No doubt, this is why Katie filed in New York City because Tom now has to prove that New York is only a temporary residence!
However, the biggest problem Katie has is that she must prove that Tom is an unfit parent! “Maybe she’ll argue that his scientology beliefs are dangerous for the child and he’s not capable of making sound decisions on her behalf,” added Ziegler.
“She can also say that she’s been with the child full-time while he’s been travelling, she’s a better parent and should have full decision making power over the health, welfare and education of the child,” says Ziegler who adds that, “this is genreally hard to prove.”
Katie may need to know something that the rest of the world doesn’t which could sway a judge to see that it’s not safe for Suri to be with Tom!
Stay tuned, HollywoodLifers! Who do you think will get custody of Suri?
– Reporting by Bonnie Fuller, Written by Chris Rogers
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