Teen Mom alum Jenelle Evans is in the midst of a custody battle with her mother, Barbara Evans, in regards to the reality star’s 11-year-old son Jace. According to The Sun, which published an update about the custody situation on Friday, Evans reportedly filed for sole custody of her son and asked the courts to grant her emergency custody on Jan. 28, 2021. At the moment, Barbara has primary physical and legal custody of Jace. Barbara has been Jace’s primary guardian since June 2010, which is when Evans signed over custody of her son to her mother.
The Sun obtained court documents that were filed in North Carolina regarding this custody matter. Based on those documents, Evans is arguing that before an individual who is not the child’s biological parent can obtain custody, they have to prove that the child’s parent is “unfit and has violated [her] constitutionally protected status as a parent.” Evans claims that she has “never been an unfit parent.” Additionally, she claims that the custody orders between 2010 and 2017 did not include information to grant Barbara primary custody of her son. As a result, she is now calling for those orders to be “null and void” so that she can regain custody of Jace (at the moment, Evans has visitation with her son every other weekend).
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Evans isn’t just asking for those orders to be “null and void,” she’s also reportedly requested that Barbara be held in contempt for allegedly violating their June 2017 custody agreement. If Barbara is found in contempt, she could face a fine or even jail time. The former Teen Mom 2 star is claiming that her mother has “intentionally prevented [Jenelle] from receiving medical and school records of the minor child” and “has not provided accounting to [Jenelle] of the minor child’s financial accounts.” She is also claiming that Barbara has “blocked [Jenelle] from talking to the minor child since she demanded the child return to her custody on or about January 18, 2021.” The court documents went on to allege that Barbara has blocked Evans from all forms of contact.
Towards the end of 2020, it was reported that Jace went to live with Evans after he was experiencing behavioral issues while in his grandmother’s care. He reportedly stayed with his mother until Jan. 18, 2021, at which point Barbara allegedly went back on their new custody agreement. (The new agreement would have allowed Jace to stay with his mother full-time.) In her original filing, Evans claimed, “[Barbara] cannot manage the minor child’s behavior without assistance from [Jenelle] and the conflict in [Barbara’s home] has resulted in domestic violence between [Barbara] and [Jace].” The document continued, “It is not safe or healthy for the minor child to remain in the custody of [Barbara] as [Barbara] is not properly treating the minor child’s mental health or managing his behaviors.” Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.
