
Levi Johnston is not an absentee dad and he’s fighting to get his son back, his attorney, Rex Butler, tells HollyBaby.com exclusively.
There are two sides to every story, and the one Levi Johnston’s attorney is presenting in response to Bristol Palin’s claims Levi is an absentee father is very different from what Bristol is saying! “
is trying to give a smokescreen that Levi does not want to see his son,” Levi’s attorney, Rex Butler tells HollyBaby.com exclusively. “He has been more than gracious in requesting to see his son, and he has said on numerous occasions ‘I want to see him’, and she will say ‘I am out of town’.”
Rex went on to say, “ usually doesn’t know where Tripp is when she takes him out of town.”
As for 20-year-old Bristol’s recent move to Maricopa, AZ., which is a suburb of Phoenix, Levi found out when the rest of the world did. “She never officially asked Levi if it was OK to go ahead and move to Arizona,” Rex says.
According to family lawyer Vikki Ziegler, Bristol broke the law by making the move without Levi’s approval. “Whenever you have joint custody you need a court order or parent consent—otherwise it’s a violation of the law,” she tells HollyBaby.com.
Bristol dropped the bombshell that she wanted Levi to give up his parental rights during an appearance on KWHL’s The Bob & Mark Show last Friday (Jan. 21). “It’s unfortunate for Tripp,” she says, adding that when she asked Levi to sign over his parental rights, he has refused the offer. “Have I asked him to change Tripp’s last name? Yeah of course,” Bristol said.“I’ve asked him to do that many times—just sign over your (parental) rights. He just doesn’t want to sign them over because it looks bad on paper.”
It is looking like this is going to be a long court case, too as Levi, 20, is in no way willing to sign over his parental rights to their 2-year-old son! “There will be no consideration whatsoever to sign over parental rights,” Rex explains. “She has done everything she can to disrupt him seeing his son and these matters will be resolved in a normal way, in the courts.”
But experts warn that Bristol’s decisions now will have serious and lasting affects on Tripp. “It’s bad for a child to not have a relationship with the father,” says marriage, family and child therapist Dr. Jenn Berman. “Kids who spend time bonding with their dads do better with cognitive development and IQ tests. That’s a fact.”
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