Custody Battles

Chris Brown may have a leg up in his custody battle with his baby mama Nia Guzman ... her boyfriend was just arrested for forging checks.

Law enforcement tells TMZ King Ba was arrested for felony forgery, after he allegedly faked more than $5,000 in U.S. Treasury checks. We're told he was released on a $5,000 bond.

Ba told authorities he turned himself in after seeing his mug on Crime Stoppers.

As we reported, Nia has filed legal docs claiming Chris is not a suitable parent because he hangs with a bad element, but the sword may have been turned on her. For her part, sources close to Nia say she broke up with Ba.

Now all Chris has to do is worry about those drug tests.

Chris Brown won a big victory in custody court Friday, but it could get derailed because of an on-the-spot drug test.

TMZ broke the story, Chris got temporary joint custody of Royalty, where he and baby mama Nia Guzman rotate every 4 days.

Sources close to Nia tell TMZ, something else happened in court. Her lawyer asked the judge to force Chris to submit hair and urine samples for drug tests, and the judge ordered Chris to ante up on the spot.

The judge didn't say what he would do if the tests came back positive for drugs ... it would obviously depend in part what type of drugs, if any, were present in his system.

Our Nia sources also say Chris' custody win had strings attached ... his mom must be present when he has physical custody of his 1-year-old.

Chris Brown just scored an enormous victory in his child custody war with his baby mama ... he got joint custody of Royalty, and he gets to take her home today ... TMZ has learned.

Brown and Nia Guzman squared off in a Houston court Friday morning. She not only wanted to deny Chris any custodial rights, she also only wanted to give him supervised visitation.

The judge disagreed and we've learned Chris and Nia will share 50/50 physical custody, with Royalty going back and fourth every 4 days. Both Chris and Nia now live in L.A.

And Chris, who was in court represented by Mark Geragos, scored another victory. The judge ordered him to pay Nia $2,500 a month in child support, which is exactly what he's been paying her. She wanted $15k.

The judge also ordered Nia not to talk crap on Chris and not reveal anything about the case on social media.

2:00 PM PT -- Nia's legal team has a positive outlook on the hearing. We're told they see it as merely a temporary victory for Chris, since there will be a mediation in weeks to come -- and child support payments will be addressed.

Also, Chris agreed that his mother would always be present when he has custody of Royalty.

Chris Brown scored an early victory in his custody war with Nia Guzman that could end up saving him hundreds of thousands of dollars.

There was no sign of Chris during the first part of the hearing in a Houston courtroom ... where the judge shot down Guzman's motion to move the case to California. Although Guzman now lives in Cali ... the judge pointed out she was living in the Houston area when the case was filed.

Brown's attorney opposed the motion to move -- most likely because California courts tend to award more money in child support cases than Texas. Remember, Chris is currently paying Nia $2,500 per month, but she wants to bump that to $15k.

The hearing's still going on -- the judge still has to hash out a custody arrangement, and rule on the gag order Chris wants ... to stop Nia from bad mouthing him.

Even though Chris was NOT initially in the courtroom ... he posted a pic saying he's been in the building all along. We're told he and his attorney Mark Geragos were in a private area.

Chris Brown wants the courts to do his dirty work -- as in, force baby mama Nia Guzman to quit bad mouthing him and talking about his fathering skills, or lack thereof, in public.

Chris and Nia are heading into court Friday morning to start hammering out a formal custody agreement for Royalty, but sources connected to the case tell us job 1 will be a gag order. Brown filed docs for an injunction blocking Guzman from bashing him to news media AND on social media.

Royalty's mom and dad have had very public beefs -- most recently when each accused the other of putting Royalty in dangerous situations. Sources close to Guzman say she thinks the gag order is a joke, since she only blasts Chris when he starts with her.

Also on the table today -- custody time (he wants 50/50), and monthly child support (she wants $15k/month instead of $2,500/month). This case won't be quick and easy. As one source put it, "It's gonna get nasty."

We'll be at court when the fireworks begin. Stay tuned ...

6:45 AM PT -- Nia just showed up at the courthouse in Houston. No sign of Chris yet.

Scott Bakula inserted himself in his "NCIS: New Orleans" co-star Zoe McLellan's bitter custody battle, telling the judge Zoe's focus is not her work or herself ... it's her son.

Zoe has joint custody of 2-year-old Sebastian. Zoe and the boy are living in New Orleans where the show is filmed, but ex-hubby Jean Pierre Gillain claimed it was unfair he had to travel from L.A. to visit his son. He claimed she was pawning the boy off to nannies while she worked.

But Bakula fiercely jumped to Zoe's defense, saying in a declaration, "Her life is and has been, about one thing and one thing only: being Sebastian's Mommy." The "Quantum Leap" star went on, "I have witnessed that every fiber of her being goes into providing a safe, nurturing, creative world for her son to grow up in."

Bakula explained Zoe has put her own life on hold ... to the point she once took the hair and makeup ladies to a concert, causing everyone to express how unusual it was that Zoe actually went out to have fun.

The actor ended by telling the judge, "Zoe has a huge heart and in my opinion, she is handling this tumultuous time of her life with great care, consideration and class."

In the end the judge didn't have to side with either parent, because Zoe and Jean Pierre settled their beef. It looks like the custody arrangement is pretty much status quo, but she has to pay him $4k a month in child support.

"Homeland" star Morena Baccarin's growing success could be exactly what hurts her in her divorce ... costing both money and time with her kid.

Morena's soon-to-be ex-husband Austin Chick just filed docs in their divorce, and he wants his chunk of her paycheck. Chick claims Morena is pulling in $1.5 million a year. He wants a cut for child and spousal support.

Chick says Morena's constant travel for work isn't healthy for their one-year-old, so he wants physical custody. He also wants Morena to cover nanny expenses up to $3k per month.

Kelly Rutherford's ex Daniel Giersch says her claim their children were "panicky" about going back to him in Monaco ... is total BS, and everyone in court saw it that way.

Giersch's lawyer fired off a response on his behalf saying, "There was no scene. They were fine ... smiling broadly."

Rutherford has said she held off on returning Helena and Hermes on Aug. 6 -- the court-ordered date -- because they told her they were afraid. But Giersch's side says ... the children immediately warmed up to their grandmother when she took custody in court, and "didn't seem to miss a beat. It was an easy transition."

Giersch seemingly poured salt in Kelly's wounds with one last line -- "When they left the courtroom they were happy and showed no signs of missing their mother."

Kelly Rutherford is ripping into the judge she says effectively "arrested" her children, and sent them back to their father ... who she claims lied to the court to get his way.

Rutherford says Judge Ellen Gesmer's ruling to send the kids back to Daniel Giersch was "shocking, illegal, and abusive to my children." She adds that Gesmer "lacked sufficient knowledge of the law, or didn't care that she was violating the law."

She insists the ruling violates the Constitution because the children are U.S. citizens.

Rutherford also says her ex lied so he could get an emergency order. She says Giersch told the court he didn't know where Kelly and the kids were, but she says the truth is ... he Skyped with the kids several times, and always knew they were safe.

She saved her last jab for Gesmer, saying ... "She has to live with herself, and if she has a conscience, I suspect she will not sleep well, ever again."

Kelly Rutherford left the courthouse visibly upset after having her kids ripped from her arms in court.

The "Gossip Girl" star was understandably distraught after the hearing, choking up as she tried to explain how she was feeling. Rutherford could only muster, "I have no words" ... before she broke down in tears.

After the judge's ruling, Rutherford was forced to turn over her two kids, sending them back to Monaco.

The next court hearing is scheduled to take place September 3 in Monaco.

Kelly Rutherford just lost big in court, and her kids are now on their way to the airport to return to Monaco.

A judge just enforced a court order giving Daniel the right to keep the 2 children in Monaco, while he works out his residency issues with the U.S.

Kelly had refused to return the children after having them for 2 months this summer, arguing the U.S. courts had no authority to order their return. But today a judge disagreed.

We're told Daniel Giersch's mom took the 2 children from the NYC courthouse and they are on their way to the airport to return to Monaco.

There's a hearing on Sept. 3rd in Monaco regarding custody.

8:58 AM PT -- The couple's kids have arrived at court.

Kelly Rutherford defiantly showed up for the court hearing where she's supposed to surrender her children to her ex-husband -- but she did NOT bring the kids.

TMZ broke the story ... Kelly was ordered to appear before a NY judge because Daniel Giersch is demanding Kelly return their two kids to him in Monaco. Kelly's visitation period ended last week, but she's refusing to send them back to Daniel.

He insists Kelly's basically a child abductor now. The judge specified Kelly needed to bring them to court today, but it looks like she's not willing to give in ... not yet.

Giersch is not in court, but his mother is there ... hoping, we guess, to take custody of her grandchildren.

Kelly Rutherford is making a bold move ... she is refusing to return her 2 kids to Monaco, despite a court order requiring her to do so.

A Monaco court -- which gave her ex-husband Daniel Giersch custody of the children 3 years ago -- allowed Kelly to take the kids for the summer. But she now says she will keep them.

People posted a statement from Kelly, in which the actress makes a clever legal argument. She notes that 2 U.S. courts -- one in New York and another in California -- have both said they don't have jurisdiction in her custody battle.

Kelly says, "It means that no state in this country currently requires me to send the children away. Hence, I have decided that I cannot lawfully send my children away from the United States to live in a foreign country."

The question, of course ... What about Monaco? Kelly goes on, "I believe Monaco appreciates why it cannot assert jurisdiction over my children, and that Monaco will respect my children's right to reside in their own country."

Chris Brown believes he's an exceptional father to his daughter Royalty and plans to fight his baby mama's attempt to limit his custody to just supervised visits.

According to our sources, Brown plans to file an opposition to Nia Guzman's request for full custody ... countering her claims that he's a bad father. Guzman has cited several issues with Chris' parenting and lifestyle, but we're told he has a comeback for each one.

First off, we're told Chris will argue he never puts his daughter in harm's way and has increased security at his home since the recent break-in.

Secondly, our sources says Chris will say he has never done drugs around Royalty.

Lastly, we're told Chris will argue he has never allowed "gang bangers" to be around his daughter.

Chris has filed his own docs to establish paternity so he can fight for joint custody, but so far a judge has not ruled.

Morena Baccarin -- Nicholas Brody's estranged wife on "Homeland" -- is headed for divorce off-screen too -- and all her success since the Showtime hit could work against her in the split.

Baccarin’s writer/director husband, Austin Chick, filed the divorce docs, citing irreconcilable differences, after 3 and a half years of marriage -- a lifetime in Hollywood.

According to the docs, Chick wants joint custody of their one-year-old son ... and he wants spousal support.

It looks like Baccarin's been the breadwinner in the fam -- picking up roles on hits like "Gotham" and "The Flash" -- so, at least on paper, she'll likely end up forking over some amount of cash.

Did we mention she's banging Det. Jim Gordon on "Gotham?" 'Cause she is ... and she looks freakin' hot doing it.

Bristol Palin just got some support from her nemesis -- the baby daddy fighting her in a nasty custody war ... former fiance, Levi Johnston.

It's a strange twist. Levi, who shares 6-year-old Tripp with Palin, tells TMZ he and wife Sunny are going to do what they can to help raise her new kid. He says she's "a great mom."

And get this ... Levi says he's sorry for Bristol's string of bad luck, specifically mentioning the fact she called off her wedding.

Palin posted a somber announcement on her Facebook page Thursday and noted that the pregnancy was a "huge disappointment" to her and her family, but Sunday she said the pregnancy was planned.

As for the whole kid out of wedlock thing, Levi says waiting to have kids until the parents tie the knot is the way to go, but he understands things happen ... they happened to him.