Halle Berry is seeking sole custody of her son Maceo, claiming his father Oliver Martinez “refuses to co-parent or communicate in a child-centered way.”
Weeks after Union actress, 58, claimed her ex-husband, also 58, didn’t continue seeing a co-parenting coach — and after a source told PEOPLE that co-parenting “wasn’t easy” for the ex-spouses — Berry filed for sole legal custody of their 10 -year-old son on Friday, August 16.
According to legal documents obtained by PEOPLE, Berry is seeking guardianship, “or alternatively, decision-making authority to make all decisions” about his educational, health and therapy needs.
The documents, filed in California Superior Court in Los Angeles County, came a year after they finalized their divorce, nearly eight years after their split in 2015. At the time, they agreed to share joint legal custody of their son, with Berry paying Martinez $8,000 dollars per month for child support and an additional “4.3% of any income he receives above $2,000,000”.
Halle Berry Asks Court To Force Olivier Martinez To Go To Co-Parenting Therapy, Says Ex Is ‘Carelessly Disregarding’ Process
In the most recent filing, Berry claims she struggled to address her son’s “educational challenges” and additional behavioral issues while “struggling to provide instruction, educational assessment, and an environment that was appropriate for Mace’s needs.”
The filing states that Martinez, however, was “oppositional, unmoved and withheld his consent for years.”
“Due to respondent’s opposition to any interventions for years and respondent’s prioritization of soccer activities over Mace’s educational and psychological well-being, Mace’s educational and behavioral challenges worsened and he continued to fall further behind in school,” the document states. .
Specifically, Berry claims that Maceo would “act out” towards her after “long periods of custody” with his father, and that her son would “repeat arguments” the former couple had in private. She claims Martinez claimed the boy was “old enough to make his own decisions.”
Martinez’s attorney told PEOPLE that he will “respond to these allegations” in the coming weeks. Berry’s rep and attorney did not respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
Halle Berry August 15, 2024
Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty
Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez agree to ‘co-parenting therapy’ with a trainer for son Mace
Berry’s legal team claims in the filing that Martinez “ignored the professionals hired to help Mace, and aggressively stood in the way of implementing strategies and interventions to help Mace,” and alleges that Martinez interfered with “custodial rights, [withheld] information from the petitioner, [made] unilateral decisions on behalf of Mace, [involved] Maceo in the conflict of parties, i [refused] follow Mace’s school recommendations.”
“To summarize, the defendant refuses to co-parent or communicate in a child-centered manner or make child-centered decisions, which interferes with Maceo getting the help he needs,” the filing states. “By refusing to communicate, withholding consent, or delaying decisions, he effectively delegated to himself sole decision-making authority in violation of the parties’ conditional judgment.”
A source told PEOPLE in early August that Berry and her ex-husband have “very different parenting styles” and that they “both love Mace” — whom they welcomed in October 2013.
The former couple previously agreed to meet with the coach to “resolve disputes and conflicts between them in an attempt to successfully co-parent” Mace, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE in May.
In a later filing, Berry claimed that Martinez “unilaterally stopped” workouts without telling her or the trainer. While she asked the court to “enforce Olivier’s compliance” with their agreement, the judge denied the request due to a “lack of exigent circumstances” or not deeming it urgent.
Berry and Martinez first met in 2010 and split in October 2015 after two years of marriage. Since 2020, the actress has been linked with her musician boyfriend Van Hunt.
“She’s incredibly happy with Van. He’s always been her biggest fan. They’re great together,” a source said earlier this month.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education