Custody Battles

Robin Thicke was back with his son in a big way Friday night, celebrating his 40th birthday over Julian's favorite meal.

Robin, GF April Love Geary and Julian hit up Catch in WeHo, where the 6-year-old chowed down on his favorite fish. Julian left with his grandma before Robin and April made their exit.

TMZ broke the story ... Robin and Paula Patton are on the verge of settling their custody war, and the dinner is certainly evidence they're on the brink of burying the hatchet.

Paula Patton's nanny told a 911 dispatcher her son was a wreck every time a visit with Robin Thicke loomed.

Cops were called as 6-year-old Julian sat in his mother's car at a Malibu park, unwilling to take the visit with his dad who was waiting nearby.

You hear the nanny describe what she says are the child's fears whenever Robin has a scheduled visit. DCFS is investigating claims Robin used excessive physical punishment on Julian.

Robin has said Paula has tried driving a wedge between him and his son and is guilty of emotional abuse.

As we reported, in the last week Robin and Paula have tried to settle rather than fight, and they are on the verge of working out a custody arrangement they both find acceptable.

Robin Thicke and Paula Patton have decided it's better to get along than wage war, and that's why they are on the verge of settling the mega custody war.

Sources familiar with the situation tell us, Robin and Paula are far along in working out the details of their custody arrangement.

TMZ broke the story ... Paula got a restraining order against Robin after their 6-year-old son, Julian, complained to school officials his dad was using excessive physical force. Robin was limited to 3 visits a week with a court-appointed monitor present.

Cops have been called and accusations hurled, including Paula's claim Robin was trying to influence the monitor by giving him free sushi ... something Robin denied.

They were scheduled to continue their legal battle Monday, but the case was taken off calendar.

Neither side would comment, but we're told they're now very close to resolving custody.

Danielle Bregoli, the "Cash Me Ousside" girl, wants to send her estranged dad a clear message -- you have ZERO business trying to get into MY business!

Sources connected to Danielle tell us she finds it absurd her pops, Ira Peskowitz, a Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputy ... is trying to weasel his way back into her life after years of being an absentee dad.

Ira started a GoFundMe page saying he needs $50k to cover legal expenses to get his daughter "proper help." He's actually raised $1300 already.

We're told Danielle thinks it's just a money grab ... an attempt to get back in her life because she's now commanding $30k in appearance fees. Not to mention the multiple reality TV offers she's fielding.

Matt Barnes says he's TRYING LIKE HELL to be a good dad -- but his ex-wife is blocking him from spending precious quality time with his 8-year-old twin boys.

His ex-wife, however, says Barnes is completely full of crap.

Lisa Marie Presley's estranged husband is having regular visits with their children -- even though they're in protective custody -- but we've learned it's a deal both parents struck.

Michael Lockwood met his 8-year-old twin girls Wednesday at the beach in Malibu. Sources connected with the case tell TMZ ... it was the second time he'd seen his daughters this week. We're told a court-appointed monitor, seen here in red, was present both times.

As we've reported ... the girls are staying with their grandma, Priscilla Presley, while DCFS investigates the "pictures and disturbing videos" Lisa Marie says she found on Michael's computer.

Our sources say Lisa Marie and Michael both signed off on Priscilla taking temporary custody -- and also on Michael having monitored visits.

Pics have surfaced of Robin Thicke and his son, Julian, at Nobu in Malibu ... the lunch Paula Patton claims was essentially an attempt to bribe the Dept. of Children and Family Services with sushi.

As we reported, Robin's team has scoffed at Paula's claim, and says the monitor -- Mike, who's wearing the hat -- sat at a separate table and only drank water. The monitor is required by the judge to be present the entire time Robin is with his 6-year-old son.

We're told the monitor was sitting at a table with someone from the Dept. of Children and Family Services, who was actually there to monitor the monitor after Paula complained about him. He too, we're told, only drank water.

As for why they went to Nobu ... it's Julian's fav.

Paula Patton just made an explosive claim in her raging custody war with Robin Thicke ... taking the social worker charged with protecting their son to a fancy dinner.

Paula just filed docs -- obtained by TMZ -- alleging Robin and his attorney initiated a bunch of back-channel communication with the Department of Children and Family Services staff ... including a dinner where Robin allegedly wined and dined a case worker. She's even specific, claiming it was an expensive sushi dinner.

According to the docs ... Paula's also accusing Robin of falsely reporting to law enforcement she had kidnapped Julian. She says Robin tampered with the custody order to make it look like she was kidnapping their son.

Paula thinks Robin was trying to embarrass and humiliate her by having cops arrest her in front of Julian.

TMZ broke the story ... DCFS is investigating claims Robin has engaged in excessive physical discipline and he can only see Julian with a court appointed monitor.

Robin's camp tells us Paula's claim is bogus ... yes, he went to Nobu with Julian and the DCFS worker accompanied them because the judge ordered that a monitor be present for all visits. But the rep says the DCFS worker did not eat or even sit at their table. The rep also says Robin only contacted police once last month when Paula had gone MIA for 10 days.

Robin Thicke has just lost his main lawyer in his custody war with Paula Patton, because a lawyer who worked in the firm that once represented Paula now works at the firm that represents Robin.

Robin has been represented by attorney Larry Ginsberg, a partner at Harris, Ginsberg. A law firm that once represented Paula in the custody fight employed a lawyer who jumped ship and moved over to Harris, Ginsberg.

During a court hearing Tuesday, Larry Ginsberg made it clear ... the lawyer in question has no involvement in the Patton/Thicke case, but the judge felt there was always the chance of water cooler talk so Ginsberg is now off the case.

Robin Thicke and Paula Patton got into it again in their custody war, and cops rushed to the scene again.

We've learned the incident went down Thursday at a Malibu park, where Paula was supposed to hand off 6-year-old Julian to the court-appointed monitor so Robin could have his visit. We're told Robin was also present, but here lies the conflict.

Sources connected with Robin tell TMZ the singer was aware Paula has a restraining order but he never came close to her. The sources say Paula was an hour late and when she arrived she refused to give Julian to the monitor. Our Paula sources say the monitor arrived at 3:13 PM and she arrived exactly on time at 3:30 PM.

Sources connected with Paula say Robin violated the restraining order and was feet from Paula when she arrived with her son. They say Julian decided he didn't want to go with his dad and asked her to call 911.

We're told Paula's people called the cops, who came to the scene but by the time they got there Paula and Julian had left. When the deputies arrived, our Robin sources say the officers told him a black SUV resembling Paula's had gotten in an accident. He freaked out and left to find the SUV.

Madonna had multiple good reasons to end her custody war over Rocco ... if she didn't, her bid to adopt two kids from Malawi would have come to a grinding halt.

The judge who green lit Madonna's adoption last week spent a long time understanding the circumstances surrounding her custody dispute with ex-hubby Guy Ritchie ... so says an official from the Malawi courts. We're told the dispute was of "paramount concern" because the judge didn't want the adopted kids thrown into a "toxic" family environment.

Since the case settled and all seemed copacetic with Guy, the judge gave the thumbs-up.

As we reported, Rocco bailed on Madonna a year ago during her tour and moved to London to be with Guy. Rocco now spends the school year in London and summers in NYC.

A court-appointed guardian will travel to the U.S. and evaluate the family dynamic before the adoption's finalized.

Look out ladies, ex-NBA star/accused jewelry thief Steve Francis is officially a single man ... TMZ Sports has learned.

The 39-year-old had been locked in a messy divorce with the mother of his 2 kids for years -- but now we've learned the 11 year union is finally over ... but there are some strict rules regarding the kids.

Francis will get partial custody -- mostly on the weekends -- but he's on very thin ice when it comes to substance abuse.

The judge says he is "permanently" prohibited from using drugs or alcohol within 12 hours before or during his time with the kids. If he violates the deal, the judge could take away custody.

Robin Thicke isn't letting his bitter custody war with Paula Patton sour him on being a parent.

Robin was all smiles Friday at LAX when asked what people should know about him as a father. Of course, Paula's accused him of spanking their son too hard -- and just recently allowed him to begin having monitored visits with 6-year-old Julian.

If the ordeal's getting him down, Robin didn't let it show.

Robin Thicke's lawyers went to court Wednesday to continue his battle over child custody, and got shut down by the judge.

Robin is currently limited to 3 visits a week with 6-year-old Julian ... Thursday, Friday and Saturday for a few hours each day, and only with a court-appointed monitor present.

Robin, we're told, was upset because he didn't get to visit with Julian last Friday, because the monitor pulled the plug after determining Julian didn't want the visit. The monitor also cut short Robin's visit on Saturday, when he took his son to Kids World.

Robin's lawyers asked the judge to allow him his visits without a court-appointed monitor. The judge rejected that request. Robin then asked that the court appoint a different monitor who could be more impartial, but the judge said no. And then Robin asked the judge to prohibit the monitor from changing or canceling the scheduled visits. Again, the judge gave the thumbs down.

Robin is currently prohibited from having contact with ex-wife Paula Patton or her mother, and aside from the scheduled weekly visits he can't have contact with Julian. The judge issued the restraining order last week after Paula made claims Robin was physically abusive to her and the child ... Robin has denied the allegations.

Paula Patton is not gunning for permanent sole custody of her son ... in fact, we've learned she's not gunning for anything now, because all she wants to do is figure out what's wrong with her son.

TMZ broke the story ... a judge just ordered Robin Thicke to stay 100 yards away from 6-year-old Julian, along with Paula and her mother. For now she has sole physical and legal custody.

Sources connected with the former couple tell us, Paula doesn't know what the final custody arrangement should look like, because she doesn't know the extent of Julian's issues. The boy told school officials Robin had been spanking him very hard. Paula also claims Robin got physical with his son.

We're told Julian is acting out in troubling ways, which include hyperventilating and just "freaking out." She's putting the boy in therapy to figure out what, if anything, happened to him and how to fix it.

We're told Paula will not make a long term custody game plan until she gets the lowdown from the therapist.

Paula Patton has sworn to a judge Robin Thicke beat her during their marriage.

According to Paula's declaration filed in support of her domestic violence restraining order in May 2013 at the Cannes Film Festival ... she and Robin got into a fight and Robin hit her with a closed fist to her upper body and then pushed her onto the ground.

She claims he threatened multiple times to "bash my f***ing head in."

Paula gets personal, saying the straw that broke the camel's back in their marriage happened back in February 2013, when she was filming "Warcraft." Robin and Julian came to stay with her and she says Robin was supposed to take care of the boy, but early in the morning, he began screaming in front of them that he wanted to "f***ing sleep ... Who do you f***ing think you are not letting me sleep!"

She also claims Robin had a serious cocaine problem.

She makes cheating allegations in her docs, saying Robin called her while he was on tour in 2013 and she heard him having sex with another woman.

A source close to Robin scoffs at Paula's allegations, telling TMZ, "If these multi-year-old allegations were true, why is she only raising them now in the midst of a custody dispute where she's the only one violating the judge by denying Robin access to the boy?"

Paula makes various allegations involving Julian, saying among other things she began noticing behavior changes last November. She describes an incident where Julian asked Robin for a hug before bed and instead she says Robin came back to his room and spanked him.

TMZ broke the story ... a judge issued the restraining order, prohibiting Robin from coming near Paula, their son or her mom ... at least for the time being. Robin asked for an order giving him sole physical and legal custody but the judge shut him down.

Robin's lawyer claims the L.A. County Dept. of Children and Family Services is about to close its child abuse investigation against Robin, concluding the charges are "unfounded" ... this according to Robin's lawyer. The lawyer also says DCFS is investigating Paula for emotional abuse.