7 Years Later, Levi-Bristol Custody Battle Is Over

They are now 'successfully co-parenting'
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 24, 2016 10:46 AM CST
7 Years Later, Levi-Bristol Custody Battle Is Over
In this Sept. 3, 2008, file photo, Levi Johnston, left, is seen with girlfriend Bristol Palin at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn.   (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

Seven years and $100,000 later, Levi Johnston has emerged victorious from his custody battle with Bristol Palin. E! has the background: In 2009, Johnston sued for joint custody of his son with Palin, claiming that the Palins were keeping him from seeing Tripp, who's now 7. The following year, they came to a custody agreement in which Levi could see his son Saturdays between 9am and 4pm and Wednesdays between 12pm and 6pm, but it was never confirmed by a court and the case was dismissed in 2012. Johnston filed for equal custody, at least, of his son in 2013, but Palin said at the time he owed $66,000 in back child support, Us reports. "I'm so happy to have my son in my life, and to put all of this back in forth in the courts behind me," Johnston revealed on Facebook Tuesday. "I'm happy now to be successfully co-parenting."

"It might have taken me 7 years and cost me around $100,000 in lawyer fees, spread out among 3 different lawyers, as well as a lot of patience, but it was all worth it," added Johnston, who also has two daughters, ages 3 and 13 months, with his wife, Sunny Oglesby. "Although I do owe some back child support, altogether I have paid $50,000 in child support for Tripp, which is $600 a month, since Tripp's birth so at the end of the day I know I have worked hard to meet my obligations as a father. Despite what some have heard I've always been there for him, and I go to almost every school event that I can and spend all of my free time with my kids." Palin hasn't publicly discussed the agreement, but she did post a quote on Instagram Tuesday reading, "The best security blanket a child can have is parents who respect each other." (She's also been responding to conspiracy theories about her new daughter's birthdate.)

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