Legal fight brewing between Sherri Shepherd and her husband

Comedian and co-host of “The View” Sherri Shepherd and her husband, Lamar Sally, have announced that they have separated. According to several media accounts, Sally filed for legal separation last week. The pleadings indicate that the couple is expecting a baby boy in July which will be born through a surrogate. Sally and Shepherd have been married since 2011.

Sally’s pleadings also indicate that he is seeking sole legal and physical custody of the child, and that he is also seeking to have Shepherd pay his legal fees. Additionally, he is asking the court to invalidate the prenuptial agreement the couple signed based on fraud.

The allegations bring up a host of questions that will need to be resolved before the divorce is made final. Nevertheless, it appears to be indicative of the common posturing that comes about at the outset of divorce proceedings. There is nothing illegal or improper for parties to take a hard line stance when it comes to child custody or property, especially those divorcing in Nevada. However, it is worth noting that a party’s initial demands do not always come to fruition when the proceedings end.

There are a number of reasons behind this. First, family law judges are bound by the law, and not a person’s financial or social status. As such, a party with a $100,000 a year job is perceived to be just as worthy to have legal or physical custody as a person who is currently unemployed. Second, courts believe that a child’s best interests are served when they have both parents in their lives; so the notion of obtaining sole legal and physical custody in order to control the child’s upbringing may not be possible.

Source: People.com “Sherri Shepherd’s husband files for separation, seeks custody of their unborn child,” K.C. Blumm, May 9, 2014