Court Denies Sharon Stone’s Request For Custody
Phil Bronstein, Sharon Stone’s ex-husband has won physical custody of their adopted son. The couple, who married in 1999 and divorced in 2004, were back in court after Stone asked for a change of custody that would involve moving the child to her home in Los Angeles. The court, however, decided it was in the best interest of the child to keep him in San Francisco where he lives with his father and is currently in school. The court also said the boy will remain there unless Stone relocates to the San Francisco area or Bronstein decides to move.
According to court documents obtained E! News, “The court does not find that (a) move away is in child’s best interest. Court finds that (Bronstein) can provide a more structured continuity, stable, secure, and consistent home that child, Roan, needs. (Bronstein) shall have permanent sole physical custody of child.”
According to Stone’s attorney, Martin Singer, “Despite a judge’s statement that Bronstein “shall have permanent sole physical custody,” Stone still retains joint physical and legal custody of Roan, per their original agreement filed on Oct. 4, 2007.” Singer also added Stone did not lose any other visitation with the child.
In Georgia, if the custodial parent of a child decides to move, either parent can use that as a basis for bringing a motion to modify custody. In this case, it appears Stone and Bronstein had joint custody but when Stone moved, she requested primary physical custody. Obviously it would be difficult for parents to exercise joint physical custody if they live several hundred miles away from each other. Often the court will look upon the parent moving as having made that decision for themselves, and if the child has lived in the area for several year and the parent remaining in the area has been involved with the child, it is likely that the court will decide that it is in the child’s best interest to stay in the area. The court may consider that the child has had enough change to deal with with the parents divorce, and that then having to move to a new town and a new school is too much for the child. Another consideration is that if the custodial parent decides to move, it will impact the ability of the noncustodial parent to visit with the child.