PROFESSIONAL party-attendee Kevin Federline was looking for a new “Brit” the other night. The famous ex of Britney Spears was at Coco de Ville in LA “staring at Brittny Gastineau while she was waiting in line for the bathroom,” said our spy. Federline, who has custody of his and Spears’ sons, “wouldn’t stop checking her out, up and down, but Brittny was not interested.” A rep for Federline had no comment.

(source)

In his first public appearance since he was granted sole custody of his two sons with Britney Spears earlier this month, Kevin Federline hit the links Tuesday.

Asked how he is doing these days, the single dad told PEOPLE: “Been having a good summer, I can’t complain.”

Federline, 30, who spoke to PEOPLE at skateboarder Ryan Sheckler’s X Games Celebrity Skins Classic, outside L.A., said he’s been balancing career and parenting. “I’ve worked here and there a little bit,” he said. “Definitely staying at home with the family.”

As for how sons Jayden, 1 1/2, and Preston, 2 1/2, are doing, Federline said, “They’re good.”

He was tight-lipped, however, when it came to Spears or how he’s moved on from their court battle. A July 18 agreement ended the nearly two-year case, with Federline retaining sole custody of the boys, and his child support being bumped up to $20,000 from $15,000.

“I’m not here to talk about that,” he said.

Federline, who played the Trump National Golf Club course with a friend, wore baggy shorts and sneakers, smoked cigarettes off the golf course, drank iced coffee, and drove his own golf cart. He took practice shots on the driving range before the game, but both of his shots on the Hole in One competition missed.

“I tried to warm up before I got here, but…” Federline laughed. “It’s going to be one of those up-and-down days. We’ll have to see how it goes.”

He also said on the red carpet, with a smile, that his children know when their father is at play. “They know when daddy’s golfing,” he said.

Federline was mum about his future work plans. His last rap CD, Playing with Fire, came out in 2006. The musician said he’s still a hip-hop fan.

“I don’t know, I’m going to make everybody wait on that,” Federline said. “I’m not revealing any work strategy right now.”

(source)

Britney Spears’s custody settlement with her ex Kevin Federline, in which he retained sole custody of the couple’s two sons, came at a price.

A source close to the singer confirms she’ll now pay Federline $20,000 a month in child support, an increase from $15,000.

Federline’s lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, also demanded and received $250,000 for his work on the case, the source adds.

“All Britney was seeking was a formalization of her increased visitation that she’s obtained over recent weeks, and the additional overnight,” the source said. “She won both of those requests.”

Spears, who is represented by lawyer Laura Wasser, currently sees her sons twice a week with one overnight. The source adds that she will get an additional overnight by year’s end, barring any setbacks.

At a press conference following Friday’s hearing, Kaplan declined to address any monetary settlement. “This has been a long ordeal [for Kevin],” Kaplan said, “and for it to be over makes him very happy.”

(source)

Britney Spears and her ex Kevin Federline have reached a custody settlement in their epic court battle over their two sons – averting a scheduled trial.

According to the agreement, which still needs to be signed off on by the court, 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 get more visitation rights.

“The case has been settled,” Federline’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan (working with attorney James Simon), tells PEOPLE. “This is the end of a two-year journey.”

Spears’s attorney, Laura Wasser, said outside the courtroom after the hearing: “Britney’s doing great. She’s very pleased [with the settlement]. The kids are with her right now.”

Without giving details, Wasser confirmed that Spears did win “more custodial time” with the boys. A source close to Spears confirms the singer will gain an additional overnight by year’s end, barring any setbacks.

Spears, 26, and Federline, 30, split in November 2006. When their divorce was finalized in July 2007, they shared 50-50 custody. But things took a dramatic turn when Spears – the pop powerhouse worth an estimated $100 million – was twice forcibly hospitalized early this year for mental health issues.

Spears lost all visitation rights with her kids until the following month, and her father Jamie stepped in to take legal control of her affairs.

Despite the settlement, a judge can always modify custody arrangements.

“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.”

E! was first to report the couple’s settlement.

(source)

He may have partied till nearly dawn, but parenting was on the mind of Kevin Federline Friday night into Saturday morning – capping a week in which he and ex Britney Spears seem destined for a custody showdown.

“Kevin was in a great mood and even talked about a new song he is working on, called ‘Daddy’s Home,’ ” says a source at Mansion on South Beach – where K-Fed (as host) and his party of 10 and a security guard stayed until 4 a.m. Saturday, following a late dinner at Miami’s Michy’s, an intimate and upscale restaurant.

“He has put a lot of time and effort into writing and rehearsing it, but says it is not quite ready yet,” the source tells PEOPLE.

At Mansion, Federline, dressed in an over-sized, blue, long-sleeved, oxford shirt and jeans, spent much of the night chatting with the club’s host Lyndon Smith, another single dad. “We talked about our kids and parenting and what that’s all about,” Smith says.

Although multiple bottles of champagne were sent to Federline, he preferred to drink water. Not that the bubbly went to waste – he sprayed an entire bottle on the dancing crowd.

Scrubs star Zach Braff and Donald Faison, with Cacee Cobb, Jessica Simpson’s former assistant, came late and hung with Federline while he danced with his group of friends, including one guy from his hometown.

Good Dance Moves
“Kevin is a great dancer with some very complicated moves,” says another source at Mansion. “He wasn’t with any one girl in particular. He was friendly and nice to everyone and in a wonderful mood.”

Federline, 30, had been seen in the late afternoon checking into the Gansevoort Hotel on South Beach, where he asked staffers to call him “Kevin” and even signed autographs.

“Kevin seemed happy and was very gracious,” says an eyewitness. “He stopped and took photos with anyone who asked.”

(source)

Kevin Federline 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.

(source)

Kevin Federline is the new father of the year!

Just in time for Father’s Day, Prive Las Vegas will award the proud papa of four his “father of the year” status at a party he is slated to host there June 13.

Sources tell PEOPLE he will be awarded the title during a presentation at the club.

The unofficial honor is Federline’s second such recognition in a relatively short time. Last November, Details magazine also anointed him father of the year – an honor he shared with onetime Anna Nicole Smith boyfriend Larry Birkhead.

Kevin Federline’s attorney can’t complain about the intense interest in his client’s child-custody battle with Britney Spears.

He doesn’t grumble about the television trucks and news reporters swarming the courthouse every time there’s a hearing, or the paparazzi who hound the pop princess every moment there isn’t. And he’s certainly not opposed to the TV reports, tabloids and Web sites that have documented every shred of the case that has consumed him for the past 18 months.

After all, the attention has saved his side some major cash.

“If I had to hire an investigator or investigators to provide me with the intelligence about what’s going on, where they are, how are they doing,” said Mark Vincent Kaplan, “it would be north of half a million to a million dollars … as opposed to buying People magazine for $3.95 on Thursday morning or going on TMZ.”

On May 6, the 61-year-old attorney emerged from Superior Court in Los Angeles where, for the first time in months, there was positive news to report about the former couple’s custody tug-of-war: Spears was to have longer visits with her children.

The change, he said, was “recognition of the progress that has been made, a progress in structure and stability.”

Days later, he sat down with The Associated Press at his high-rise office near Beverly Hills, letting on that those inside the case were viewing it through the same prism as the rest of us.

“Everyone who had a big toe in this case at every level followed what was going on by looking at the Web sites,” he said.

Spears has always been an irresistible media target, but the 26-year-old’s split from Federline launched a series of antics that amplified coverage of her life. The pop star appeared in public without underwear, shaved her own head at a suburban salon and beat a car with an umbrella. She checked in and out of rehab, got into fender-benders, inexplicably spoke with a British accent and made a paparazzo her personal companion.

Twice she was rushed by ambulance to local hospitals, drawing hordes of helicopters each time.

“No other case has had the media addiction and frenzy that surrounded this case and these people 24-seven,” he said. “There’s never been anything like this, and there probably won’t be for a while.”

Each bizarre episode formed a new wrinkle in her custody dispute, and each twist prompted a new round of news reports. The press swarmed whenever Spears was allowed to see 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James, and she was not averse to trotting the tots through known paparazzi hot spots.

In January, after her second hospitalization, Spears’ visitation rights were suspended completely; her father, Jamie Spears, legally took over her personal and financial affairs in a conservatorship – a legal designation normally reserved for cases involving the elderly and infirm.

But in the ensuing months, she has avoided the harsh spotlight, instead spending time with family and even finding success in a cameo role on television’s “How I Met Your Mother.”

The scene at the May 6 hearing was so low-key as to be almost anticlimactic. The tide had apparently turned, not only for Spears, but also for the horde that was feeding off months of high drama.

It was a long time coming.

“In order for a high-profile case not to be high profile, everybody’s got to want it not to be high profile,” Kaplan said. “That wasn’t happening for a while.”

While the frenzy may have abated, it hasn’t completely dissipated, in part because the case is continuing in open court rather than before a private judge, where celebrities often choose to settle their private affairs. Kaplan says that’s happening for reasons he can’t discuss.

One of the effects, however, is an evolution of Federline’s public image – from the guy who caused the downfall of America’s pop princess, to the more stable, responsible parent in an ugly situation.

“I think when the media saw that here’s a guy who stepped up to the plate, not just because he had to but because he wanted to … I think they gained a respect for him and that really turned them around a lot,” Kaplan said. “The mission involved – wanting to change the wrongful impression that was generally perceived for my client – without the media being a willing participant, it would have been impossible.”

That “mission” is why Kaplan says he took the case. Kaplan prepared Federline’s prenuptial agreement, and the two reunited when Spears filed for divorce.

“It was at that time that I knew that this was someone that I believed in who was taking on a cause that I believed in,” Kaplan said. “I realized that, in order to achieve the goal that he had regarding custody, that we couldn’t get from point A to point B without passing right through the center of the American dream.”

With A-list resources, Spears has employed a revolving door of representation, including four family law firms and some 15 attorneys throughout the case, while Kaplan and his partner, Jim Simon, have been the only two fighting for Federline. Spears was forced to pay most of his legal bills, and as of last month, Kaplan was still due $343,834.

When Federline, who has two other children from a previous relationship, won sole legal and physical custody of Sean Preston and Jayden James in January, it was a victory for Kaplan & Simon, LLP. And it was merited, said Connoly Oyler, a veteran Los Angeles family law attorney who is not involved in the Spears-Federline matter.

“In Spears’ case, with the emotional breakdown that she had, that’s a legitimate reason for one parent to say, ‘I want sole legal and sole physical (custody), because the other parent is not physically or psychologically able to take care of the children,’” he said. “There is good reason for Kevin Federline doing what he did, legally.”

Despite the overabundance of drama and media, the Spears-Federline case does share one thing with other custody disputes, Kaplan said: It’s a battle over the welfare of children who don’t grasp what’s going on around them.

“The bottom line is you’ve got two kids … who don’t know and don’t care and should never have to care about who their parents are,” he said. “They just want to be safe and secure, nurtured and bonded with their parents just like any other kids. … That’s really what’s at the core of this just like any other case.”

Kaplan said he’s proud of what he and Simon have accomplished for Federline. The case is arguably among the most significant in the attorney’s 34-year career, and Kaplan said it has inspired personal satisfaction and professional growth.

“We’ve expanded and everyone’s coming and wanting to hire me,” he said. “I’m seen as, in a lot of ways, taking on Goliath.”

“Very few lawyers get the opportunity that this case has presented on every possible issue you can think of,” he continued. “Even fewer lawyers recognize the opportunity, and even a smaller percentage of those have the (guts) to go for the opportunity.”

Of course being around celebrity has perks of its own.

“It’s made it possible to not have to make reservations at a restaurant,” he said, “but that too shall pass.”

There may be a thaw in the formerly contentious relationship between Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, suggests K-Fed’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan.

Spears, who last week was awarded more visitation time with her sons by Federline (Preston, 2, and Jayden, 1), was the topic of discussion for Kaplan, on Monday’s Today show.

Kaplan said that the judge’s decision at last week’s ruling reflected an “improvement” in Spears’s condition. She spent full days, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., on both May 8th and Mother’s Day with her sons.

Asked about the current status of the relationship between the couple – including the rumor they would again star together on a TV show – Kaplan sidestepped any direct answers, instead saying that any potential reconciliation between Spears and Federline would be for the sake of their sons. (Britney makes her second appearance on CBS’s How I Met Your Mother Monday night.)

“If you’re going to have two parents participate in the lives of raising their children,” said Kaplan, “there has to be some camaraderie between them for that to be a meaningful expectation and reality.”

But are things better between the ex-husband and wife?

“When you go from where things were, when there was no visitation, to where they are now,” said Kaplan, “there will be some contact … there’d be some ability to exchange a camaraderie that is necessary and a function of co-parenting together.”

(source)

Speaking after the Toxic singer won extended visitation rights to see the former couple’s two sons during a court hearing yesterday, K-Fed’s spokesperson said: “Kevin loves Britney and he loves his children.

“I believe he would love to see a situation where the children have the benefit of a mommy and a daddy raising them. I’ve seen him (Kevin) with his children. The love is genuine.”

The couple split after two years of marriage in 2006, sending Britney’s life spiraling out of control.

Spears, 26, will now get three days supervised visitation a week and visitation on Mother’s Day.

“The court made orders [Tuesday], they were orders that the parties were able to mostly agree to,” Kevin’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan said. “It represents a cautious step moving forward.

“We are seeing signs of [Britney’s] progress, and consistency over time is something welcome by Kevin … The children are doing great.”

The next progress hearing is set for July 15.

After the hearing, Britney, wearing a knee-length brown and white dress, was spotted smiling and leaving with her parents.

When asked if she were happy, her attorney Stacy Philips gave a smile and a thumbs up sign.

Lynne and Jamie Spears, were smiling and talking to each other.