Sophie Turner, Joe Jonas reach temporary custody agreement for daughters amid divorce
Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas reached a temporary agreement regarding sharing custody of their two daughters after the "Game of Thrones" star petitioned for the return of their children back to England.
According to a second interim consent order filed Tuesday, Turner and Jonas will each have custody of their daughters, ages 3 and 1, for alternating periods ranging from 1½ to three weeks through Jan. 7, per a court document obtained by USA TODAY.
Turner will have custody of their daughters Oct. 9 through Oct. 21 and they will then be in Jonas' custody starting Oct. 21 until Nov. 2. The children will spend Thanksgiving with Jonas and Christmas and New Year's with Turner. Each parent is able to temporarily travel with their children to the United Kingdom or any U.S. state during their allotted time.
The estranged couple has until Dec. 23 to share an update on their plans following the interim consent order.
Joe Jonas, Sophie Turner's discussions about custody are 'productive'
According to the judge's filing on Tuesday, Jonas and Turner "are engaged in mediation with United States and United Kingdom co-mediators." Third-party mediators help parents reach an agreement on how children spend time with their parents through determining custody and visitation.
"Due to the ongoing and productive nature of mediation, (Turner and Jonas) jointly request entry of this Second Interim Consent Order in anticipation of an amicable resolution of all issues being reached," according to the filing.
This temporary arrangement doesn't mean the judge has made a decision regarding Turner's Sept. 21 petition for returning the children to England. However, the order does supersede the previous Sept. 25 interim consent order in which the two agreed to not travel outside of New York with their children.
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Temporary custody schedule comes after Sophie Turner claimed Joe Jonas refused to return daughters to England
Tuesday's development comes more than two weeks after Turner filed a lawsuit against Jonas for allegedly refusing to return their children to England amid their high-profile divorce.
Turner claimed that though the children were supposed to be returned to her on Sept. 20 so they could travel to England, Jonas withheld their daughters' passports and "refuses to send the children home to England."
In a Sept. 21 statement to USA TODAY, a representative for Jonas, Jeff Raymond, disputed Turney's claim and said the former couple's daughters "were not abducted" by their father.
"After being in Joe's care for the past three months at the agreement of both parties, the children are currently with their mother," the rep said. "Sophie is making this claim only to move the divorce proceedings to the UK and to remove the children from the U.S. permanently."
Turner's petition was filed Sept. 21 under The Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the International Child Abduction Remedies Act, both of which provide solutions for children internationally abducted from one parent.
Turner stated in her filing that she planned to file a case in England. Jonas' custody of their children is a "breach" of Turner's "rights of custody under English law, England being the children’s habitual residence," according to her lawsuit.
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Sophie Turner, Joe Jonas offer conflicting reports on whether children lived in the US or UK
Jonas filed for divorce from Turner in Miami-Dade County court on Sept. 5.
In the petition, Jonas claimed the children had been living with Jonas in Miami, Florida, "and other locations throughout the United States."
Meanwhile, Turner said in her lawsuit filed in New York that their daughters have lived in England since April 10. That month, she and Jonas "made England their permanent home," the filing says.
Turner's suit gives insight into the couple's split, claiming "the breakdown of the parties' marriage happened very suddenly," alleging an "argument" on Aug. 15 that preceded Jonas' divorce filing in early September.
Turner "found out through the media that the Father had filed for divorce," according to her petition.
Contributing: Naledi Ushe, USA TODAY
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