Attorneys Stephen Korshak and Lee Karina Dani

Baby news for Jessica Simpson, Kim Kardashian

by | Jan 2, 2013 | Child Custody |

2013 is only a day old, and we already have compelling celebrity baby news. The rumors (and this story) actually began on Christmas Day, when Jessica Simpson announced that she and fiancé Eric Johnson would be welcoming their second child in the New Year. She tweeted a photo of their daughter Maxwell sitting on a beach with the words “BIG SIS” etched in the sand. Simpson also posted a photo of her pregnant belly a few days ago.

Also this week, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian made news by announcing that they will welcome a child into the world in 2013. West surprised his fans during a concert on December 30th by announcing to the crowd “stop the music and give it up for my baby mama!” Kardashian also shared the news with her fans through her blog, saying that she was excited about the prospect of starting a family and that she and Kanye were very happy.

While these stories will provide a great deal of celebrity gossip in the coming months (e.g. baby names, birth dates) the underlying legal issues provide another layer of fodder. Neither party is married, which leads to different conditions regarding custody and parenting time should they split up.

Essentially, a mother has sole legal and sole physical custody of a child born outside of a marriage, and an unmarried father must petition the court for custodial rights. More often than not, unmarried parents don’t take this step; instead relying on the recognition of parentage form that is signed at birth. However, there must be a court order that grants custody and parenting time.

Source: HuffingtonPost.com, Jessica Simpson pregnant: singer confirms pregnancy with holiday photo, December 25, 2012