A surprising development has come about in the on-going custody battle over the Spederline children, Sean Preston and Jayden James. It is being reported that a deal has been struck between Britney Spears and Kevin Federline for sole physical custody of the boys. According to K-Fed‘s lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, Britney relented and agreed to let K-Fed have full physical custody of the boys while she agreed to enjoy mere visitation rights. News of this agreement started making the rounds last night, I understand that the parties are meeting in court today to have the judge approve the settlement and finalize the agreement:

According to the agreement, reportedly signed by all parties, Federline retains sole custody of the couple’s two sons, Preston, 2 1/2, and Jayden, 1 1/2. Spears – who’s currently allowed two visits and one overnight per week – will keep her visitation rights. “The case has been settled,” Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, told E! Online. “The court still has to approve it.” Both parties are due in court Friday … However, a judge can always modify custody settlements – and a source close to Spears tells PEOPLE the singer will likely get increased visitation as time goes on. “Until the kids turn 18, we can expect in years to come that Britney and Kevin will be back in court,” says L.A. family lawyer Lynn Soodik, who is not involved with the case. “Britney will have a better chance of winning more custody once she regains her health. This is just the end of Round One.”

This is very shocking news to me. I never anticipated that an agreement like this would be reached so quickly and so easily. The only thing I can assume is that Britney‘s legal counsel (you may recall that Laura Wasser rejoined Britney‘s legal team) convinced her to allow this settlement to be agreed upon in the hopes that she will prove to the court that she is serious about the children’s welfare and, as she continues to fortify her health, will eventually continue to win back increased visitation and more custody. Even still, I can’t believe that she would agree to this settlement. My guess was that K-Fed would be paid off and would eventually back down. I guess Privé nightclub knew what it was doing when it named Kevin Federline Father of the Year. This deal could be signed, sealed and settled by the court in mere hours. The long-waged Spederline custody battle may be totally finalized today.

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Now that Britney Spears is back on track getting her life in order she managed to woo power attorney Laura Wasser back to rejoin her legal team … and Wasser wasted no time hauling everyone back into court this morning to try and win back joint-custody of Sean Preston and Jayden James for Mama Britney. Both Britney and ex-hubby Kevin Federline (with his legal eagle Mark Vincent Kaplan) showed up for a court hearing this morning to revisit the child custody ruling that gave K-Fed full physical custody of the children:

Britney Spears and ex-husband Kevin Federline separately arrived at a Los Angeles court Tuesday for a custody hearing. Spears, 26, is apparently seeking a change in her visitation schedule, but details weren’t immediately known. At 8:40 a.m., a somber-looking Federline, wearing a beige suit, entered the courtroom along with his lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan. Spears, also looking somber, entered shortly thereafter with her father. Her blonde hair was straight and long and she wore a white shirt, beige pants, and wedges. She took a seat in the right side of the courtroom, while Federline was seated on left side. Laura Wasser, Spears’s original divorce lawyer, is reportedly rejoining the singer’s legal team. Wasser was seen entering the courtroom along with a lawyer working for Spears’s conservatorship. The pop star currently has monitored visitation with her sons, Preston, 2, and Jayden, 1, three times a week. The ex-couple faces a custody trial in August if they’re unable to settle their case out of court. “Our goal is to settle what we can without a trial to achieve what’s in the best interest of the children,” Kaplan tells PEOPLE. “But whatever can’t be resolved with a private mediator will be brought to trial.”

Wow … Laura Wasser does not waste any time at all, does she? Something tells me that K-Fed and Kaplan were not expecting such a direct assault as this and prolly hadn’t anticipated that Wasser would come back to represent Britney in this custody battle. Don’t get me wrong, I honestly believe that it will be much tougher for Laura Wasser to convince the court that Britney Spears deserves joint physical custody of her sons (despite all the positive progress that Britney has been making in recent months) but Brit Brit‘s chances at success are much better with Wasser leading the charge. Britney (with help from her father/conservator Jamie Spears) is serious about getting her life in order. First she got herself under control and now she wants her kids back. Don’t be surprised if Laura Wasser helps Britney get what she wants.

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Since it’s Father’s Day and all and since I made mention of this story yesterday, I guess it makes sense to post a short little follow up today … Privé nightclub in Las Vegas, NV felt it necessary to name Kevin Federline (father of four [by two different women], ex-hubby to Britney Spears and plain white rapper) as the Father of the Year for 2008. Yesterday I posted pics of The Federline as he walked the red carpet and today we have a pic of K-Fed posing with his two BHFs (best homies forever) with his Father of the Year trophy:

I understand that K-Fed‘s lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, was among the folks in his entourage rollin’ with the big dawg on Friday night. I also hear that even tho there was an Ed Hardy Intimates fashion show (featuring Miss Nevada Veronica Grabowsky) going on nearby his VIP table, K-Fed kept his eyes to himself and was on his best behavior. HMMM. For some reason, The Federline chose not to have his Father of the Year trophy awarded to him in front of the nightclub crowd (choosing instead to have the award ceremony happen backstage, privately … which I find odd since he agreed to accept the award in the first place — and from a nightclub). Nevertheless, Privé nightclub owner Justin Levine presented K-Fed with his trophy backstage … in what looks like a storage closet. Again, despite his past foibles, I’m cool with K-Fed getting a bit of props for his recent actions as a father. This trophy cup seems like the perfect representation of his accomplishments this past year.

[Photo credit: Wireimage]

Privé nightclub in Las Vegas, NV hosted an evening with Kevin Federline last night where the daddy mack was on site to accept his award from the club as Father of the Year. In everything I’ve heard or read about this “award ceremony” there has been no mention of what criteria K-Fed met to win such an award nor have I come across anything that justifies a nightclub awarding this award to anyone in particular … but there you have it. Here are a few pics of Privé‘s Father of the Year as he took to the red carpet last night:

Kevin Federling has been named Father of the Year by Las Vegas club Prive. “I’m surprised,” Federline said when asked how it felt to win the title. Britney’s ex, 30, hit up the club with eight male pals — including divorce attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan — just before 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Federline — also named a Power Player last year — had a quiet night at the club, chilling with friends and pumping his fist into the air when Timbaland’s “The Way I Are” was played by the DJ. Prive presented Federline his Father of the Year trophy “someplace quiet” at the dad-of-four’s request, so clubgoers didn’t see the ceremony, according to a source. He was gone by 3:15 a.m.

Now see … I don’t really have the same ire for the man that I used to back in the day when I thought he was a man-leech feeding off Britney Spears. I think that he has grown up a bit (especially since the divorce) and, from the way it seems from an outsider’s viewpoint, has become a relatively responsible father. He managed to keep his family together while his former wife Britney Spears was falling apart and took great pains to ensure that their children were shielded from her then dangerous actions. I think it says a lot that Britney‘s parents, Mama Lynne and Papa Jamie Spears, sided with K-Fed while Brit was imploding and looked to Kevin to ensure that the kids were well cared for. If you take all of this stuff into consideration, I can see how K-Fed might be worthy of a Father of the Year title. In this respect, I feel it necessary to join in on the congratulations for The Federline. Now, if he would just ensure that he’ll never make rap music again, I’d happily give him an award of my own.

[Photo credit: Splash News, Source]

Well now … what have we here? Britney Spears, with her father and conservator Jamie Spears not far behind, was spied boarding a private jet bound for Las Vegas. Brit‘s most recent personal assistant was also along for the ride (sidebar: kudos to her for hanging in there with Britney and for lasting longer than the few shitty assistants that Britney employed last year –Shannon Funk and Carla Ruiz, I’m talking to you) for what can be assumed will be a fun weekend in Sin City … here are a few pics of Brit and her entourage at the airport yesterday:

Incidentally, Kevin Federline was also spied making preparations for a trip to Las Vegas for this weekend. K-Fed was snapped with his homies packing up his car for the trip:

It’s unclear if The Federline and his dawgs will be driving the whole way to Vegas or if they were merely making their way to the airport as well. It’s also unclear if there will be any sort of Spederline reunion going down in Vegas this weekend. I understand the kiddies, Sean Preston and Jayden James, were left at home (not sure with who, tho, Papa Jamie is going to Vegas with Brit and I believe Mama Lynne Spears is back in Kentwood, LA) … could a reconciliation be in the works? I’m not sure it’ll be quite that blatant but it does seem odd that both Brit and Kevin are headed for Vegas for the same weekend … sans kids. I’m gonna hafta keep my eye on this one.

[Photo credit: X17]