Spears Allowed Supervised Visitation of Children; Judge Warns Singer to Take Him Seriously

After a hearing that lasted almost three hours Wednesday, a Los Angeles judge has decided that Kevin Federline will retain custody, while Britney Spears will get supervised visitation of the couple's children.

"This was a step forward for the pop star, who lost custody to her ex-husband earlier this week when she failed to meet a few of the court's requirements. Spears wasn't required to hand over Sean Preston and Jayden James until Wednesday at noon, but she handed them over Monday, according to the couple's previous 50/50 custody arrangement. She then promptly took steps to get her children back, including getting a temporary driver's license in the state of California on Tuesday.

Commissioner Scott Gordon recognized those efforts after a closed hearing in chambers, and modified his custody ruling so that the couple share joint full custody, with Federline as the primary custodian, for now. Gordon ruled that while Spears' attorney offered evidence of compliance of his previous orders (see "Britney Spears Must Undergo Regular Drug Testing, Parenting Classes In Custody Case"), the singer was not in complete or "substantial" compliance, according to court order's released Thursday (October 4).

Gordon stressed that Spears must take the order for random drug testing more seriously, ruling that missing a test, refusing to submit a test or failing to respond to a testing agency's call would all constitute a failed test.

Gordon also stressed the importance of the counseling sessions he had previously prescribed, ordering that Spears complete at least three individual counseling sessions by the next hearing and that she complete at least three joint parenting-counseling sessions with Federline by the next hearing as well. Gordon also ordered Spears to submit proposals for parenting coaches and counselors within 24 hours.