A wealthy Brazilian anchorman and his model ex-wife are involved in the latest international custody battle to hit headlines. This one, however, is of a slightly different nature.

In essence, the bitter custody battle is a case of he said she said. Maria Vianna is claiming that her ex-husband, Rony Curvelo, planned to kidnap their 8-year-old daughter and take her to Haiti. Curvelo is insisting that Vianna is manipulating the legal system in order to gain custody of their daughter.

The issue was ignited by an email Curvelo mistakenly sent to Vianna. It was originally intended for his boss and was asking whether or not he should go to Haiti to cover the earthquake. Curvelo is the anchor of a 90-minute newscast in San Paulo.  He previously worked for CNN and Telemundo.

According to Curvelo, Vianna misinterpreted that email and went to a New York judge claiming that Curvelo planned to abduct their daughter and take her to Haiti without getting her vaccinated.  Vianna also claimed that her ex-husband wasn’t making their daughter’s tuition payments and that he wasn’t providing her with a Catholic education.

Curvelo maintains that Vianna’s accusations against him are complete nonsense. “How can I abduct her when she’s already living with me 300 days of the year?” asked Curvelo.

Since the couple divorced, Curvelo has had primary custody of the girl. Curvelo and his daughter live in San Paulo, Brazil, but she comes to New York twice a year for 30 days to spend time with her mother.

Judge sided with Vianna, granted her temporary custody of the girl. Curvelo believes his ex-wife is lying to the judge. According to Curvelo, Vianna signed a notarized agreement granting him custody of their daughter when they first got divorced.  Curvelo is claiming Vianna is now arguing that the agreement is forged and that the deal they made when they got divorced shouldn’t be upheld because she didn’t have a lawyer at time.

Curvelo’s lawyers maintain the agreement is real and valid and  that it was indeed signed by an attorney.

The Curvelo-Vianna custody battle is set to begin tomorrow at 2 p.m.

If you are entangled in a child custody battle, or if you are planning to file for divorce and expect child custody to be a heated issue, you can trust an experienced Jacksonville child custody attorney at Ellerin Hutchinson to protect your best interests, provide you with trusted advice and guidance, and help you achieve your legal objectives.

To learn more about our services, please contact Ellerin Hutchinson today at (904) 866-4489!

Last week a Chimpanzee garnered national headlines as its owners were slated to go to court to fight for custody in Sarasota.

James “Mike” Casey of Missouri is taking the chimp’s caretaker, Virginia “Gini” Valbuena, to court.  Casey and his ex-wife ran a chimp farm together while they were married.  He believes that during their contested divorce, his ex-wife gave the chimp, named Eli, to Valbuena.

Casey claims the chimp rightfully belongs to him, and that the chimp was born during his divorce.  Valbuena, however, claims she got the chimp from a California wildlife park, and maintains that Casey’s ex-wife did not give her the chimp.

Casey’s attorney called for DNA evidence to help prove where the chimp came from under the same laws applied in paternity disputes. Casey says the DNA would be compared to the chimp’s parents at the farm.  If the DNA matches, then it proves the chimp is his.

Valbuena’s attorney contested the motion for DNA testing.

After reviewing testimony, Circuit Court Judge Charles Roberts eventually decided that DNA testing should be not done. He did however say that a DNA test could be done in the future if new details surrounding the case were introduced.

Scott Ellerin is a Jacksonville family law attorney with extensive experience in child custody disputes and issues. To contact the Law Office of Scott Ellerin, please call (904) 866-4489!