Britney has managed to regain visitation rights for her kids, though with some strings attached; Spears was hospitalized earlier this month in a psychiatric facility. The visits must take place in a therapeutic setting. Also, Britney's father Jamie Spears and Brit's psychiatrist must be at every visit. Both sides are impressed by how quickly Daddy Spears has helped calm the maelstrom that Britney's life has become. He remains her conservator for the time being.

Also new is that Sam Lufti, one of Brit's many hangers-on and someone actually accused of drugging her, has finally been served with a restraining order forbidding contact with the pop star through the middle of March. He seemingly had attempted to avoid being served with papers long enough for them to expire, only showing up at his place of residence a day after they were valid. A judge extended the restraining order and also ruled Lufti had been served so he was under obligation of the order.

All we can do is hope Britney's able to get the help she needs. The family support is coming together nicely in her favor.

The pair were in court yet again on Friday because of a motion made by James to have their daughter Jacqueline evaluated by psychological experts, reportedly in order to bolster his motion for joint custody.

Dina countered by saying that the time to hire experts had already elapsed, and to do so at this stage was simply an attempt to set their May hearing date back. The judge agreed, saying that the experts opinions were unnecessary.

The couple already has a parenting coordinator and a counselor for their daughter, who is six.

After the ruling, Jim was quoted as saying he was "disappointed" since he has "always wanted equal custody and equal parenting time".

Dina was rather perturbed by this claim as well, filing papers stating that "at no time during their marriage or separation has (McGreevey) co-parented Jacqueline as he asserts". She also said that whenever he has their daughter, he frequently leaves her in the care of others, such as his sister, friends or his partner.

It's sure to be an interesting road to May, and clearly there's very little chance of this one settling out of court. Let's hope when it comes to custody that both parties can focus on what's really best for the child, however, and not what they may perceive is best because it's best for them.

Click here and here for more.

After a five year separation, and two years of divorce proceedings, rocker Eddie Van Halen and his ex Valerie Bertinelli are finally officially single. Break out the champagne!

The divorce was amicable, and very few details have been released to the public. I'm sure both will be able to find dates by Christmas!

Valerie filed for divorce in 2005, citing, as always, irreconcilable differences. At the time she filed, the couple had already been separated for over five years. They were married in 1981, and have one son who is on tour with his dad filling in for a bass player. As the son is still 16, custody was an issue, though nothing has been reported as far as who has the boy or how this will affect his current touring schedule, if at all.

How odd must it be to be roaming the countryside with your dad by your side. And your dad is now a single dude. I bet that boy sees a lot more than he ever wanted to out of his daddy in the next coming months.

Click here for more.

Just in time for Christmas, David Hasselhoff and his ex Pamela Bach have come to an agreement on their post-divorce loose ends. What better gift to give than the promise of no court dates for the new year, right?

The Hoff and his ex were officially divorced in August of 2006, but it's taken till now to get financial and custody arrangements settled. In June of this year, Hasselhoff was granted full custody of their two teenage daughters, but today it was revealed that the couple will have a joint custody arrangement. Hoff has also agreed to let his ex stay in their San Fernando Valley home until it is sold.

Apparently the ex-couple's relationship has begun to become more civil, which allowed for the revised custody arrangement. No word on whether Bach got the extra spousal and child support she was after, though.

Hoff praised his daughters for their strength and dignity through this "very difficult time". Neither Bach nor her lawyers had any comment to make on the proceedings as of yet.

Good luck in your separate lives!

Click here for more.

Remember, this guy is a Hollywood star with millions of dollars who seemed to go through a fairly amicable split — no disputes over money or child custody. He admits to having suicidal thoughts after the divorce was final. Describing himself as a "physical wreck," he said he wasn't taking care of himself at all, he'd wake up crying and vomiting, and he wanted to die.

Pretty powerful, really, that he'd even admit that. It doesn't seem that men are as apt to share their grief, which is perhaps why there is this prevailing view that men aren't as affected by divorce as women.

In the rest of the interview he goes on to talk about his kids and career, saying that having children has made him a better actor. How so you might ask? Well, he can now cry on command. He says that having kids has made his life "fuller and more complicated", and he's experienced many highs and lows.

At least he's mindful of the changes kids can make in you if you let them. I'm encouraged by men like this stepping out — soon people will realize divorce is a painful process for everyone involved.

Click here for more.

However, sometimes the moments that are caught aren't simply those weak or brainless times that every person has on occasion. Take the latest stories from Britney Spears, for example.

The pop princess was photographed and even filmed running a red light at a notoriously bad intersection in Los Angeles. This might not be so bad — everyone's run a red light or two in their time. In this case, though, both Brit's kids are in the backseat, the court appointed monitor is crouched down in the front front — whether in fear or fetching something is unknown — and Brit herself has her cellphone up in front of her face, either texting or making a call.

She's already been in hot water for driving without a valid license, and this might be just the ammunition K-Fed needs to keep the boys out of the car with her at the helm. His lawyer is already trying to subpoena the video for an unscheduled hearing.

If that weren't enough, she's reportedly flunked one of her scheduled drug tests. Now, her camp has come out with varying reasons for the supposed failure. One states that it was a false positive reading and she's passed every other test thus far. Another says that it must be picking up on a legal drug in her system that she takes for narcolepsy. Of course, she's been on that medication for some time with no positive tests registered thus far...

The Good...
Former sweethearts Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams are trying to make their daughter as comfortable as possible by decorating her bedrooms at their respective houses exactly the same. Reps say this is so their two-year-old won't feel uncomfortable when visiting Daddy. Momma Michelle got the former family house of course. It's sweet to see a couple that cares that much about their kid! Very much like...

The Bad...
Brad Garrett and his ex — while I would like to put the news of his divorce under "good", simply because of the seemingly amicable way it was handled and settled, let's face it, divorce is never all good. The two have agreed to share legal and physical custody of their two children, and Brad is paying his former spouse $20,000 a month in child support and $35,000 a month in spousal support. Damn, those Raymond reruns must pay off big time. At least he's not...

Donna D'Errico, who was refused a delay in her divorce from Motley Crue band member Nikki Sixx. Her reasons for delaying the trial were due to her health and her claims that she could not find a new attorney because of wildfires. The judge apparently felt that she represented herself well enough in court to deny her request. He offered no sympathy in regards to her lack of representation since she fired her most recent attorney. It's not all fun in the sun for this former Baywatch babe, but it can always be worse. And that brings us to...

She ought to give her legal team a bonus for pulling a turnaround like that.

Wednesday, a court order was issued suspending Brit's visitation until she was "compliant with (prior) court orders". The judge also demanded a report from the parenting coach she's supposed to be meeting with before the next scheduled hearing this Friday.

Apparently the reason the suspension was enacted was because she didn't give the drug testers her contact information so they could administer their random tests.

Whether her lawyers sent over her numbers and address or also express shipped a few hair and urine samples, no one can tell, but she was spotted with her children and an unknown woman presumed to be her court appointed monitor this weekend.

Brit's primary lawyer confirmed today that she does have her visitation reinstated, though the full details were not disclosed.

Wouldn't it be great if all divorce lawyers could get things settled that fast?

Click here to read more.

Attorneys for pop star Britney Spears filed a motion requesting extended visitation privileges — including overnight stays — for her two boys. Prior to this ruling, she was only allowed monitored visits during the day.

Reportedly, K-Fed didn't show for the hearing, but Brit was there for the afternoon proceedings and testified, though what she said isn't available, as no media were allowed in the courtroom.

Her testimony must have been effective to get a custody alteration that quickly. That, or she's definitely made a smart move with her attorney selection.

The overnight visits will be monitored just like the daytime visits, and Brit's team apparently requested that her mother Lynne Spears be appointed as the new monitor. While I'm all for having mom by your side, I think an arrangement like that might be a bit too safe, and the last thing Brit needs is to be caught out partying on Baby Night while mom's at home watching the kids.

Visitation was a compromise, as she wanted multiple nights a week and K-Fed didn't want her to have any overnights at all. His attorney offered some pretty sharp words in regard to the hearing, suggesting Brit's quick filing is merely a "continued lack of respect and understanding for what an order of the court actually means."

Ouch, that hurts. As I reported earlier in the week, I hope her actions are indicative of a greater change. If she screws this up, it would just hurt her chances, perhaps irreparably, of ever getting custody back.

Click here to read more.

Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Philippe's divorce is now finalized. I don't really expect to see either one out gallivanting or hitting the clubs so soon, but breaking free from the spouse seems to have an odd effect on some stars. Let's just hope both of them can keep their heads on straight.

Reese filed in 2006, citing the celebrity-favorite "irreconcilable differences" as reason for the split. They were married for seven years, and have two children.

In her initial petition, Witherspoon allegedly requested joint custody, with primary physical custody for her. She also wanted to keep Ryan from requesting spousal support. There was no pre-nup, so anything that's been earned by the pair over the course of the marriage will be split equally. Her last stated request was reportedly for "exclusive use of the family residence".

No word yet on whether these conditions were met or approved, though from the outset, it doesn't appear either one wants to turn this into a fierce battle. They both appear to be intelligent adults and loving parents, so this writer hopes they can come to a reasonable agreement on any issues, and that neither one decides to shave their head.

Click here to read more.