Hollywood Life

Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson’s Custody Case Could Get ‘Very Messy’: Lawyer Explains

February 27, 2019 | By Samantha Wilson

As if things weren’t complicated enough, it could get tougher for Khloe Kardashian and Tristan Thompson when they battle for custody! A lawyer explains exclusively how the exes may work out a deal.

In the wake of his Jordyn Woods cheating scandal, there’s one thing Tristan Thompson and Khloe Kardashian must still come together to do: decide on custody of their 10-month-old daughter, True Thompson. HollywoodLife spoke to Andrew A. Zashin, a family law attorney in Ohio, where Tristan resides, who explained how Khloe and Tristan living in two states could affect their custody agreement. As he puts it, “this could get very messy and very complicated.”

“This case could be a jurisdictional fight, where the home state could be a ‘question of fact’ and we have to determine where the child has lived for the last six months because there’s an act called the UCCJEA (Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act),” Zashin told us EXCLUSIVELY. “Khloe and Tristan could be fighting in two different courts in California and in Ohio. The courts would have to communicate with each other to figure out which state has greater ‘significant connections’ with the child.”

It’s even more complex than that. Zashin says that there’s always a chance that Tristan could fight for True to stay with him in Cleveland, arguing that Khloe could run her business from Ohio. “Since he’s a basketball player and is traveling much of the time, Tristan could explain to a judge that he might barely be able to see his daughter since he’s on the road so often,” Zashin says. “He could make a fight that [Khloe’s] entirely capable of doing what she does in Ohio, and he could even get psychologists involved. Many psychologists would agree that it’s in the best interest of the child to have a lot of contact with both parents, even if it’s for a short period of time, rather than no contact for long periods of time.”

He explained that Tristan would likely have a better time obtaining significant custody of True when she’s older, as ferrying a baby back and forth across the country frequently could be “burdensome” for the child. In Ohio, a father has equal rights to the child, however. But, as Zashin says, if it’s determined that True is a resident of California, the decision is up to a California judicial officer.

We also spoke EXCLUSIVELY to David T. Pisarra, a family law attorney from California, who made similar statements as Zashin. “[Tristan] will probably get a weekend here, and a weekend there, and as True grows up, he’ll get more time. But right now True is only 10 months, so she’s [likely] staying with Khloe for now. Most likely, the visitation would be ordered in California, and Tristan would be allowed to see True there. He would have to provide Khloe with some sort of itinerary or agenda of what hotels or friend’s houses he’s staying at if he plans on taking True for an overnight stay.” Pisarra says that while Tristan could legally take True with him to Cleveland on the weekends, it probably won’t happen, as “practically, it’s not realistic.”