Kim Kardashian “could win full custody” of her and Kanye West’s children after he skipped their divorce deposition.
The US Sun have reported that while its unclear why the 45-year-old was a no-show at the meeting, the former couple have agreed to another deposition on November 19 at 9.30am.
The re-scheduled deposition will take place ahead of a two-day trial on December 14, which is set to finalise their divorce.
“Avoiding a deposition in litigation is treated seriously by the judge, particularly when it is a repeated offense,” said Rachel Fiset, managing partner of Zweiback, Fiset & Zalduendo LLP.
If Kanye fails to attend the re-scheduled deposition, Kim could be a step closer to gaining full custody of their four children – North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm.
Family lawyer Lexie Rigden told the outlet: “If Kanye refuses to show up to his deposition, the judge could sanction him monetarily, make him pay counsel fees, and if it is an egregious enough discovery violation, the judge may be able to bar him from putting on a case at trial.”
“For two very wealthy people who do not need each other’s money, the custody issues will be most important.”
“In most divorce cases, the parties are able to at least work out some of the issues. But, given his behaviour and apparent unreasonableness, everything may be in dispute, from custody to distribution of assets,” the family lawyer continued.
“For two very wealthy people who do not need each other’s money, the custody issues will be most important.”
“His disparaging posts about Kim and her family in the media, and his nonsensical proposals including that the children attend two different schools at once, are going to likely be used to show that he cannot reasonably co-parent and does not have the children’s best interests in mind.”
Meanwhile, Rachel Fiset said: “After Kanye skipped this deposition, they’ve given him one more date to appear.”
“If he doesn’t, he may face sanctions during their upcoming trial, such as a fine or a monetary award to Ms. Kardashian, and/or he may have the facts which they were trying to uncover during the deposition change into admissions against him.”
“If he is trying to avoid giving information that would hurt his case by skipping a deposition, a judge might automatically determine that the bad information is a fact inside of the trial, because he was uncooperative.”
“In severe instances, it can be contempt, which can either be civil or criminal as determined by the judge.”
“Overall, this can hurt his case,” the lawyer continued. “In the most severe instance, the judge can rule against him and he could get a lesser custody award and a less favourable monetary disposition.”
“But more likely, the judge will simply determine that the facts Kim Kardashian alleges are true, and not give him the chance to defend himself.”
Last month, it was reported that Kim and Kanye were “nearing a divorce settlement”, after the rapper filed a declaration of disclosure – which typically indicates that a divorce case is on the verge of being settled.
Kim and Kanye tied-the-knot back in 2014.
However, the reality star filed for divorce from the rapper in February 2021 after nearly seven years of marriage.
While the pair appeared amicable after their split, their divorce took a nasty turn late last year when Kim started dating SNL comedian Pete Davidson.
After they went public with their romance, Kanye launched a number of scathing social media attacks against Kim and her beau.
The rapper’s online behaviour led to him being suspended from Instagram for 24 hours, and he was also banned from performing at this year’s Grammys back in April.
He also released two music videos which depicted him “burying” animated versions of Pete, who he has continuously referred as “Skete” online.
The reality star and SNL comedian have since parted ways due to their conflicting schedules.
