Singer Britney Spears will pay US$20,000 a month in child support to
ex-husband Kevin Federline for the care of their two children and will make a
final payment of US$250,000 to his lawyers, according to a final custody
agreement filed in court.
The monthly child support payment is a US$5,000 increase over what Spears and
Federline, a dancer and rap singer, agreed to last year, the court papers
showed.
The agreement formally settles the custody case between Spears, 26, and
Federline, 30, said Allan Parachini, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Superior
Court.
The custody portion of the settlement was not made public. In an order filed
on Friday, an August custody trial for the case was called off.
Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, last week told several media
organizations the agreement would allow Federline to retain sole custody of his
children with Spears - Sean Preston, 2-1/2, and Jayden James, 22 months.
Kaplan and Spears' attorney, Laura Wasser, did not return calls on Friday.
Spears' US$250,000 payment for Federline's legal expenses is due July 30.
Spears and Federline married in 2004, split up in late 2006 and their divorce
was finalized last year. Spears lost custody of the boys in January after two
brief hospitalizations for psychiatric evaluation.
During the divorce and custody battle last year, Spears displayed
increasingly bizarre behavior in public such as shaving her head and going after
the paparazzi with an umbrella.
But Spears in recent months has been credited with turning her life around
and last month she was given court permission for overnight visits with her
sons.
