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Bristol Palin is trying to completely change her 2-year-old son, Tripp Johnston’s life. She’s wants to legally switch her little boy’s last name to ‘Palin’ and she moved him thousands of miles away from his father, Levi Johnston—all the way from Alaska to Arizona! Levi is so opposed to what Bristol is doing and he’s also refusing to accept her request that he give up his parental rights to the adorable little boy, which could mean that he never gets to see him again! But can he really fight the Palins with all their fame and money?
“She is trying to bump him out of the situation,” speculates family law expert Vikki Ziegler, who feels that this is a case of Bristol not needing Levi’s money and just hoping that he’ll go away so that she can live her own life as she sees fit. “There is a difference between giving sole custody and relinquishing parental rights. With sole custody, you still have rights to see the child,” she explains, adding that it’s common for the mother to have sole custody when the child is out of wedlock, as is the case with Bristol, 20, and Levi.
If Levi, 20, relinquishes all parental rights, he will no longer have to pay any child support but he could also run the risk of never getting to see his son ever again, according to Ziegler. This is especially worrisome since Bristol just moved their baby to Arizona from Alaska without his permission.
Levi’s only seen Tripp four times since November
But experts warn that Bristol’s decisions now will have serious and lasting affects on Tripp.”The problem is not the legal ramifications of this, the problem is Levi not being around his son. It’s bad for a child to not have a relationship with the father,” Marriage ,Family and Child Therapist Dr. Jenn Berman, tells HollyBaby.com. “Kids who spend time bonding with their dads do better with cognitive development and IQ tests. That’s a fact.”
Dr. Berman feels that because Levi has never been known to be violent or dangerous, there’s no real reason to stop him from spending time with his son, even though she admits that the fact that he hasn’t made much time for the boy does work against him. “I understand why Bristol would think it’s important to remove Levi from their boy’s life now — only spending a few hours with him i the past few months isn’t terribly promising about his commitment to his family — but she really shouldn’t.”
Bristol wants to change her baby’s name
“If she succeeds in blocking Levi from seeing his child, then when he’s older he’ll surely be filled with resentment toward her,” psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert says. “If Levi wants to be an active dad and she prevents that, it would be cruel,” adds Dr. Berman, author SuperBaby: 12 Ways to Give Your Child a Head Start in the First 3 Years.
Both experts agree that the best thing that Levi and Brisol can do for the sake of their son is make sure to put his needs first. “They shouldn’t be using their child as a pawn,” says Alpert. “Bristol should do all that she can to help foster Tripp’s relationship with his father,” says Dr. Berman.
“She is trying to bump him out of the situation,” speculates family law expert Vikki Ziegler, who feels that this is a case of Bristol not needing Levi’s money and just hoping that he’ll go away so that she can live her own life as she sees fit. “There is a difference between giving sole custody and relinquishing parental rights. With sole custody, you still have rights to see the child,” she explains, adding that it’s common for the mother to have sole custody when the child is out of wedlock, as is the case with Bristol, 20, and Levi.
If Levi, 20, relinquishes all parental rights, he will no longer have to pay any child support but he could also run the risk of never getting to see his son ever again, according to Ziegler. This is especially worrisome since Bristol just moved their baby to Arizona from Alaska without his permission.
Levi’s only seen Tripp four times since November
But experts warn that Bristol’s decisions now will have serious and lasting affects on Tripp.”The problem is not the legal ramifications of this, the problem is Levi not being around his son. It’s bad for a child to not have a relationship with the father,” Marriage ,Family and Child Therapist Dr. Jenn Berman, tells HollyBaby.com. “Kids who spend time bonding with their dads do better with cognitive development and IQ tests. That’s a fact.”
Dr. Berman feels that because Levi has never been known to be violent or dangerous, there’s no real reason to stop him from spending time with his son, even though she admits that the fact that he hasn’t made much time for the boy does work against him. “I understand why Bristol would think it’s important to remove Levi from their boy’s life now — only spending a few hours with him i the past few months isn’t terribly promising about his commitment to his family — but she really shouldn’t.”
Bristol wants to change her baby’s name
“If she succeeds in blocking Levi from seeing his child, then when he’s older he’ll surely be filled with resentment toward her,” psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert says. “If Levi wants to be an active dad and she prevents that, it would be cruel,” adds Dr. Berman, author SuperBaby: 12 Ways to Give Your Child a Head Start in the First 3 Years.
Both experts agree that the best thing that Levi and Brisol can do for the sake of their son is make sure to put his needs first. “They shouldn’t be using their child as a pawn,” says Alpert. “Bristol should do all that she can to help foster Tripp’s relationship with his father,” says Dr. Berman.
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