Child Custody

It was billed as a "shocking tell-all" and a "world exclusive," but the National Enquirer's March 26 cover story landed with a thud. TMZ, Page Six and other major players in celebrity gossip ignored the article in which a masseur claimed John Travolta offered money for sex. FOR THE RECORD: An earlier version of this article used the term "masseuse"; it should have said "masseur. " Five weeks after the issue left the checkout aisle, a DUI attorney from Pasadena put the anonymous masseur's tawdry tale in a lawsuit and it became an overnight pop culture sensation, topping Google News, trending on Twitter and meriting a segment on "Good Morning America.

The man who is charged with killing eight people at a Seal Beach hair salon last month told investigators that he first drove to Bolsa Chica State Beach near his home, sat on the sand and, according to police, "pondered shooting" his ex-wife. He also said, "I know what I did. " That statement and details of Scott Dekraai's movements are contained in a warrant, released this week, that also sheds light on the possible motivations behind Orange County's worst mass killing. His ex-wife Michelle Fournier, who was a stylist at Salon Meritage, was the first one killed in the Oct. 12 massacre.

Robert Blake's 35-year-old daughter won temporary guardianship Thursday of her baby half sister Rose, the child born of the actor and the woman he is accused of murdering. Delinah Blake pumped her fist and mouthed "Yes!" at the end of a brief hearing in a downtown Los Angeles courthouse, at which Los Angeles County Superior Court Commissioner H. Ronald Hauptman pronounced Rose Lenore Sophia Blake hers, at least for now.

An apparent domestic argument in Costa Mesa turned deadly Tuesday night when a gunman opened fire on a woman and her father, killing the pair in front of a home, according to police. A 36-year-old man was apprehended at the scene after officers responded to a call of shots fired shortly before 6 p.m. in the 3400 block of Santa Clara Circle, said Lt. Bryan Glass of the Costa Mesa Police Department. He said the suspected shooter is the ex-husband of the 32-year-old woman, who lived in Costa Mesa.

Spring in the Mojave Desert begins low on the desert floor with brilliant yellow tidy tips and blue and white lupine blooms pushing up along Route 14 between Lancaster and the foothills of Tehachapi. Beautiful scenery, yes; and, under different circumstances, a very pleasant drive. But Paul and Wendy--formerly Mr. and Mrs.--Burgess have had quite enough of this ride. Or at least what it symbolizes.

When Karen Adams of West Covina saw the snapshot of the two black-haired babies with pink bows, she said she felt a flower blossom in her heart. They were her granddaughters, but she had never seen them because they had been given away to adoptive parents half a continent away. No matter how well the couple cares for them, Adams, a descendant of Native Americans from a Northern California Pomo tribe, said the twins, now 2, don't belong with outsiders.

A now-divorced couple who had hired a surrogate mother to bear them a baby--using anonymous donations of egg and sperm--continued their legal battle over child support Monday. In court papers, attorneys for the woman, Luanne Buzzanca of Santa Ana, told a panel of appellate judges that if they failed to find that she was the legal mother of the child--a finding that a lower court judge with jurisdiction over the case has been reluctant to make--the result would be "utter chaos."

There were plaudits all around last fall when a troubled teenager who spent 10 years in foster care was reunited with the father she had hardly known, thanks to what Los Angeles County supervisors described as a "groundbreaking effort" at family unification.

I am very grateful for not being a child during the reign of our current Supreme Court. My parents divorced when I was 10 and my mother's boyfriend wanted to move us out of the state to be with him. My father fought the move in court and won. Dad saw us every weekend and we stayed with him in the summers. Even though he was not the custodial parent, all his free time was spent with us and we did many fun things together. He taught me to pursue my dreams no matter the obstacles, to be courageous even when I felt scared and generally how to live a peaceful and successful life.

In Miami, thousands of Cuban Americans lined the streets in recent weeks to protest the possible return of young Elian Gonzalez to his father. Even though Elian was returned to his father Saturday, the sheer number of protesters may well have affected how the government handled things. Not so with the group of 50 people--men, women and children--protesting last week outside the state appeals court in Santa Ana. They too believe they're fighting an international custody battle.

A prominent Beverly Hills psychiatrist who has helped decide hundreds of child-custody disputes was thrown off one recent case and has been challenged in at least two others after posting lewd photos of himself on Facebook and allegedly promoting illegal drug use, unprotected sex and male prostitution. Dr. Joseph Kenan, president of the American Society for Adolescent Psychiatry, is also being investigated by the Medical Board of California on at least four complaints by parents who hired him to do custody evaluations, according to records and correspondence reviewed by The Times.

Less than two weeks before Easter, a judge in Illinois has ruled that a father involved in a contentious divorce and custody dispute cannot take his 3-year-old daughter to church on the most holy day of the Christian calendar. Judge Renee Goldfarb's ruling maintains an injunction imposed against Joseph Reyes last year after he had his daughter baptized in the Roman Catholic Church without the consent of her mother, who is raising their daughter Jewish. The prohibition came after Reyes sent photos of his daughter's baptism to his estranged wife.

A woman who vanished 14 years ago with her 7-year-old daughter was arrested Tuesday in Monrovia and her daughter was located unharmed, authorities said Friday. Wendy Hill, 52, was spotted at a local Claim Jumper restaurant and arrested on suspicion of abducting her own daughter. Jessica Click-Hill, now 22, was contacted by authorities after the arrest. She is believed to be living out of state and no longer goes by her given name, police said. "I'm just so excited that Jessica is found and well and that, physically, she's fine," said the girl's father, Dean Click.

Reporting from Bogota, Colombia, and Sao Paulo, Brazil -- A 9-year-old boy who spent more than half his life as the object of an international custody battle that strained U.S.-Brazil relations was returned to his American father Thursday. Sean Goldman was reunited with his father, David, at the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro after Brazil's Supreme Court ordered the boy's stepfather to turn him over. Father and son then boarded a jet reportedly chartered by NBC News and headed home to New Jersey.

As the media frenzy enveloping Tiger Woods found new life Thursday with unidentified sources saying that his wife was poised to file for divorce, the Woods saga shifted to questions of how the couple would divide not only custody of their two young children but one of the biggest fortunes in professional sports. And the outcome likely would depend on several factors, including where the case is filed and the language of any prenuptial agreement between the world's No. 1 golfer and his wife, Elin Nordegren, experts in family law said.

A Liberian man whose 8-year-old daughter allegedly was raped by four boys, then reportedly shunned by her family, must wait at least three months before possibly regaining custody of the girl. The father, who is not being named to protect the girl's identity, met with Child Protective Services on Monday. The girl was taken into state custody after officials said her parents blamed her for the assault and said they didn't want her anymore. But on Monday, the father denied the accusations.

A new nonprofit group seeking to reform child custody and child support laws is holding its first fund-raiser today. The group, Californians for Family Justice, is seeking to change state laws so that children of divorced parents have equal access to both parents and that both are equally responsible for the care and financial support of their children, said Susan Stivers, a group organizer.

The outcome of the O.J. Simpson trial may still be weeks away, but in another court, prosecutor Marcia Clark could claim victory this week. Without comment, the state Court of Appeal on Thursday denied a request by her estranged husband, Gordon Clark, to overturn an order closing the couple's child custody proceedings and forbidding those involved to publicly discuss any related issues.

In the lowest moment of Michael Jackson's life -- his 2005 criminal trial -- his mother, Katherine, was his greatest supporter. In breaks between testimony of witnesses accusing the pop star of molesting young boys, she and her son would repair to a private room in the courthouse with his legal team and she would murmur comforting words to him. "She would tell him that the truth would prevail, that God would help him. She just kept him strong," defense lawyer Thomas A. Mesereau Jr. recalled.

Michael Jackson's ex-wife and the mother of his two older children is in line to obtain custody of them, even if the pop star designated another person as their guardian after his death, legal experts said Friday. Although UC Berkeley law professor Herma Hill Kay said it was "not a slam dunk" that ex-wife Debbie Rowe would win custody, four other experts in family law said she would have the advantage if there is a custody battle.