In the annals of notorious celebrity divorces, Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger’s rancorous split stands out as one of the most unseemly and unfortunate.
For nearly a decade, the A-List actors waged a not-so-private domestic battle, which ended in a separation in 2000, followed by a messy divorce in 2002. The couple has a daughter, Ireland, who was 5 years old when they broke up. After years of legal fighting, in 2012, Court Commissioner Maren Nelson finally granted Basinger custody of the child.
To put that in perspective: the custody battle over Ireland lasted nearly as long as Kim and Alec’s marriage. For almost all of Ireland Baldwin’s life, her parents fought over custody of her.
Ireland is the child of celebrities – she’s therefore likely not without means or resources – but this ordeal must have still been very challenging for her. This story illustrates one of the queer difficulties of child custody negotiations:
• On the one hand, you may believe that you’re the more adept, fit, and knowledgeable parent. As a result, you may want to retain custodial control over your child and/or prevent your ex from having that control.
• On the other hand, you also want to respect your child’s need for stability and peace from legal turmoil. Finding the right balance is not easy.
Fortunately, you do not have to navigate the challenges of a divorce, child custody, or other family law issue on your own. The team here Dinnebier & Demmerle can provide legal services to help you get on the right track.