A local Pittsburgh native, Wiz Khalifa, seems to have his hands full with what can best be described as the onset of a “messy” custody dispute with ex-wife, Amber Rose. Recent news reports detail photos of a backyard patio covered in animal feces where Amber Rose lives with their almost two year old son, Sebastian. The reports indicate Khalifa is concerned that the family’s dog is eating the feces and then licking Sebastian’s face. This horrific thought, coupled with additional photos showing a knife left on the kitchen counter-top and overflowing garbage cans, has caused Khalifa to consider pursuing legal action to obtain more custody of his son. According to the most up to date news articles, Khalifa is generating a lengthy list of issues related to Amber Rose’s care of their son that could lend support in a future custody dispute.
If Khalifa was still a Pennsylvania resident, a possible first step at getting more time with his child would be to file for a modification of his and Amber Rose’s existing custody agreement. If the circumstances surrounding the child’s care are as bad as the photos portray, Khalifa would be wise to file for primary physical custody. In Pennsylvania, there are two types of custody – physical and legal. Generally parents share legal custody, which allows both of them to participate in making major legal decisions regarding the child’s care in areas such as medical treatment and education.
However, it is not unusual to see one parent with primary physical custody over a child – meaning that parent has physical possession of the child most of the time, and this could end up being Khalifa.
In a custody dispute, the court’s primary focus is on the child’s best interest – this is the overriding theme in all Pennsylvania custody battles. In making this best interest determination, the court will consider a multitude of factors, such as, which parent will encourage a positive relationship between the other parent and child, who will more likely attend to the child’s needs, and parental duties performed by each parent. If ex-wife, Amber Rose is behaving in accordance with Khalifa’s claims and Khalifa is able to show that it would be in Sebastian’s best interest to live with him most of the time due to an unhealthy environment at mom’s house, a Pennsylvania judge could be inclined to award him primary physical custody.
If you are involved in a “messy” custody dispute, and would like an experienced Pennsylvania Custody attorney to get their hands dirty for you, call McMorrow Law today at 724-940-0100.