Britney Spears has lost custody of her children, according to US reports today.
Showbiz website Access Hollywood reported that Los Angeles court documents showed Kevin Federline would be granted custody of the couple’s two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James, on October 3.
Federline would retain custody “until further notice of the Court”, the website said.
At a hearing behind closed doors in the Los Angeles Superior Court today, Judge Scott Gordon ordered the pop star to turn over custody of her two young sons to ex-husband Federline later this week.
Last month, Judge Gordon said Spears engaged in “habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol” and ordered her to undergo random drug and alcohol testing twice a week as part of her custody dispute with Federline.
Spears was previously ordered to meet weekly with a “parenting coach” who was to observe and report back to the court about her parenting skills.
Both Spears and Federline must complete the court’s “Parenting Without Conflict” class.
The singer married Federline, known as rapper K-Fed, in October 2004, but filed for divorce last November, which became official on July 30.
The two had joint custody of their children, but, citing the 25-year-old’s erratic behaviour including late nights out with the children, K-Fed is fighting for a 70-30 split in child-rearing duties and for more money.
Last month, Spears’ lawyer, Laura Wasser, left the case and said the singer would be in “excellent hands” with her new lawyers, Melvin Goldsman and Marci Levine.
She added: “I don’t want anyone to perceive that we’re dumping Britney.”
Later the same day, Spears was dropped by her management company, The Firm, just a month after she hired them for the run-up to the release of her new album on November 13.
The singer’s latest single, Gimme More, received strong reviews, but she gave a widely-criticised performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in September.