Kelly Rutherford wins sole custody of kids after three-year battle with ex
Actress Kelly Rutherford's long-running custody battle over her kids with ex-husband Daniel Giersch has been turned upside down by a California judge, who has ordered the father to send them back to America.
The Gossip Girl star has been given temporary sole legal and physical custody of son Hermes, eight, and five-year-old daughter Helena, and Giersch has been told to send them to Los Angeles from his home in Monaco to live with their mom.
The stunning development comes just days after the actress told
People magazine that her ex had banned her from visiting their
children until she handed over their U.S. passports to "a neutral
person" over his fears Hermes and Helena were kidnapping
targets.
Celebrating the news over the weekend (23May15), Rutherford's
lawyer Wendy Murphy told People.com, "We are ecstatic, and hopeful
that Monaco will respect the California court's ruling and send the
children home. It has long been our position that Monaco has no
jurisdiction because Hermes and Helena, as American citizens, have
an absolute right to live in their own country.
"If the citizenship shoe were on the other foot and these children
were citizens of Monaco, I have no doubt the United States would
respect their right to reside in Monaco.
"Monaco officials know that sending the children back to America is
the right thing to do. I'm looking forward to the happy reunion of
the children not only with their mother, but also with their
country!"
The actress has been fighting to appeal a 2012 ruling that awarded
Giersch custody of the kids after his U.S. visa was revoked.
She filed for divorce in 2009, when she was three months pregnant
with Helena, and then found herself having to travel to France just
to see her kids.
Following the news of her custody win over the weekend, family
friend Kim Kardashian took time away from her wedding anniversary
plans to tweet, "Wow!!!!! Congrats @KellyRutherford You deserve
ever bit of this joy!!!!"