Divorcing couples’ battles often don’t end with the signing of divorce papers — particularly when they have children. Former Dallas Cowboy and current analyst for the NFL Network Deion Sanders is still battling with his former wife Pilar two years after the couple divorced.
The Sanders are currently involved in two different disputes. They are fighting over custody of their three children. The one-time Pro Football Hall of Famer and his wife have also filed defamation suits against each other.
In the contentious divorce, Deion Sanders got primary custody of kids, who are currently 11, 13 and 15. The children’s mother lost her visitation rights almost a year ago after she was found in contempt of court after she reportedly failed to return the children to their father following a visit with them. She was jailed for a week and then placed on a year’s probation. She later won the right to communicate with them, but mostly via phone and other electronic devices.
Pilar Sanders is asking to be the primary caretaker for her kids. Her attorney argued, “It’s a bleak picture as to education, progress and success of these three children.” Meanwhile, Deion Sanders’ attorney countered that Pilar’s “continued behavior is detrimental to the children.”
The former couple’s vitriolic public statements against one another are another source of legal dispute. Pilar has accused her former husband, largely via social media, of domestic violence against the children and herself. She countersued following his defamation suit, saying that he had called her “certified crazy.”
The Texas district judge in the middle of all this recently decided to consolidate the custody and defamation cases and hear them together. Both sides are scheduled to return on Nov. 18. The judge has said he will give them each a half-day to make any final arguments before he makes his decision.
Thankfully, most divorce cases don’t involve this level of drama. Family law attorneys generally encourage couples to resolve their differences outside of court. This is usually in everyone’s best interest — particularly those of any children involved. However, in some cases, couples are simply unable to resolve their differences any other way. Therefore, it’s helpful if your attorney has experience handling divorce and custody cases in court if that becomes necessary.
Source: The Dallas Morning News, “NFL broadcaster Deion Sanders, ex-wife Pilar Sanders back in court over differences,” Valerie Wigglesworth, Oct. 28, 2015