The relationship between Kim Kardashian and Kanye West has been strained for a long time now. And after months of rumors and speculation, Kim officially filed for divorce on Feb. 19. Kim is seeking joint legal and physical custody in her divorce filing for their four children, North, 7, Saint, 5, Chicago, 3, and Psalm, 1.
But a lawyer is claiming that Kanye will face a tough battle getting 50/50 custody of the children.
“If Kanye intends to fight Kim on custody, he is going to have an uphill battle that I do not believe is likely to end in his favor,” family and divorce lawyer Christina Previte told Nicki Swift. She went on to say that Kanye has “constitutional rights” as a parent but may be limited in how far these rights will take him.
According to Previte, “Kanye will be granted access to the children, and he will have the right to engage in major decision-making regarding his children. However, beyond that, he has several hurdles to overcome if he wants 50/50 custody.”
And the biggest hurdle for Kanye is a major tactical error he already committed.
When things were getting rough between Kim and Kanye, he didn’t hesitate to pack his bags. Last year, he left their home in Los Angeles in order to spend a prolonged amount of time at his ranch in Wyoming. And Previte believes that this decision may come back to haunt Kanye.
“Kanye’s biggest mistake was leaving the primary marital home in Los Angeles to live in Wyoming for a long period of time with only sporadic parenting time with his children,” she said. “The fact that the children have been living with Kim in Los Angeles and Kanye has been in Wyoming, it seems unlikely that [parenting time] was significant.”
RELATED: Kanye Reportedly Changed All His Phone Numbers So Kim Can’t Call Him
In other words, Kanye may have inadvertently helped make the case that Kim is the primary parent of their children. And Previte claims that Facetiming with the kids “is hardly tantamount to being a present parent and actively engaging in the children’s upbringing and daily living.”
Reports have indicated that Kim and Kanye have agreed to split custody. But the court’s primary focus when ruling on custody is deciding what is in the best interests of the children. Simply put, Kanye walked away from the kids and Kim stayed with them, which makes it unlikely that Kanye will be awarded 50/50 custody in Previte’s view.
That doesn’t mean Kanye won’t be able to see the children at all, but it will all depend on the state of his mental health. Previte thinks it is highly likely he will get “regular visitation” with the kids, as “long as he is not displaying any active mental health event such as mania, severe depression or even psychosis.”
Kanye was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016. Reportedly, Kim’s decision to divorce him stems from his comments and behavior at a rally Kanye held last July during his failed presidential campaign. After the event, Kanye tweeted, “Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up. . . .”
According to Previte, to get joint physical custody, Kanye would have to prove “he is honoring treatment recommendations and can provide a stable and safe environment for the children.”