Last week, NBA star Dwyane Wade agreed to pay his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches-Wade, $5 million in a divorce settlement after a five-day trial in Chicago. The settlement came three years after the couple’s divorce was finalized by a Cook County family court.
However, the drama didn’t end there. On the same day as the settlement, Wade filed a motion in Miami family court to withhold visitation with the pair’s two children until Funches-Wade agreed to get a psychological evaluation. A Miami judge denied the emergency motion on Tuesday and ordered Wade to immediately turn over the two boys to their mother.
In the motion, Wade had cited Funches-Wade’s alleged anger problems and erratic behavior as reason for the psychological evaluation, but the judge didn’t buy it. Attorneys for both parties told reporters that the two boys would be delivered to their mother Wednesday for their scheduled visitation.
Wade was granted primary custody of the two boys in 2011 and Funches-Wade was granted visitation rights. Since then, the former high school sweethearts have been battling over custody issues, child support and other financial matters.
Funches-Wade was scheduled to have the boys, ages 9 and 4, for a two-week visit beginning July 22. However, Wade decided to withhold the children and file the emergency motion after Funches-Wade made a public display outside of Daley Plaza during the trial.
Wade submitted video of the display, in which Funches-Wade portrayed a homeless person and angrily told reporters her side of the story, with his emergency motion. Funches-Wade responded to the motion with an unlawful visitation interference report against the NBA star.
Hopefully, this will be the last major blowout between Wade and Funches-Wade. Unfortunately, this case shows just how heated divorce and custody battles can get, which is why it’s important to have an aggressive and effective divorce lawyer on your side.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times, “Judge orders Dwyane Wade to turn over kids to ex-wife for visit,” Maudlyne Ihejirika, July 30, 2013
