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Britney set for custody showdown

31/12/2007

Britney Spears is set for a custody showdown early next year, her ex-husband's lawyer has revealed.

According to Mark Vincent Kaplan, his client Kevin Federline is eager to restart court proceedings as soon as possible.

Britney is currently embroiled in a long-running dispute with her ex-husband Federline for the custody of their two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James.

"Britney Spears will have her deposition early this year," Kaplan told People magazine in Beverly Hills late Saturday night. "We've got a lot to talk about."

Spears missed her initial deposition on December 12th citing illness and physical anxiety for her absence.

However Kaplan has questioned her claims, saying: "She was, in fact, out later that day and night. It's not fourth grade where you get a doctor's note and it's all okay."

The judge ruling in the case has previously criticised the Toxic singer for being a "habitual, frequent and continuous" user of alcohol and controlled substances and ordered to her to undergo regular drug tests and attend parenting sessions.

"Kevin isn't interested, nor am I, in punishing her," Kaplan continued. "We just want to get information necessary to proceed further. I am hoping remedies which include continuing hearings are all theoretical."

Spears' younger sister Jamie Lynn confirmed recently that she is expecting her first child at the age of 16.

The teenager, star of Nickelodeon's Zoey 101, told OK! magazine that she was three months into her pregnancy and was shocked when doctors confirmed the news.

A parenting book by the mother of Britney and Jamie Lynn has been delayed indefinitely, her publisher confirmed subsequently.