Custody Battles

Gilbert Arenas has been "behaving badly" and needs to change ... so says a judge who just ordered the ex-NBA star to attend co-parenting classes with his ex ... TMZ Sports has learned.

Gilbert and Laura Govan -- the mother of his 4 children -- were just in L.A. County Superior Court ... where they've been battling out a custody arrangement ever since their nasty split last year.

But on Monday, the judge admonished Arenas in open court -- saying, "Gilbert is behaving badly. He needs to change."

As we previously reported, Laura has claimed Gilbert is a "reckless parent" -- and was furious after he posted a video of their 8-year-old son dangerously riding on the front hood of a Polaris back in December.

The hostility between Laura and Gilbert goes back way further than that -- but on Monday, the judge told them they NEED to learn to get along for the sake of the kids and ordered them to 12 hours of co-parenting classes, which must be taken together.

If they don't complete the classes, the judge could alter the arrangement again -- affecting everything from Gilbert's financial obligation to visitation.

They're due back in court in July -- giving them 6 months to figure things out.

Chris Brown's baby mama claims the singer is not only a bad influence on their kid ... he's making the child sick.

Nia Guzman claims 1-year-old Royalty has developed asthma, and she says it's all because Chris has exposed her to an extreme amount of secondhand smoke. Brown is a weed and tobacco enthusiast.

Nia says when Royalty comes back from a visit with Chris she usually reeks of smoke.

Guzman also claims in legal docs she's worried Chris is abusing drugs and has relapsed ... especially with sizzurp.

Nia wants to restrict Chris' visitation ... asking the judge to force him to hire a full-time nanny or pull back on his right to be around the child.

She also wants the judge to force Chris to take random drug tests, prohibit him from using drugs or consuming alcohol around Royalty, and stop him from smoking around their daughter.

And Nia wants more child support ... she's getting $2,500 a month but wants it upped to nearly $16k a month.

We've reached out to Chris' attorney for comment ... so far, no word back.

Guy Ritchie, his wife and Rocco are going strong as they prepare to battle Madonna next week over who gets the kid.

It's been 2 months since the 15-year-old bailed on his mom during the London leg of her tour and moved in with his dad. He said then that he wanted to live with Guy, and apparently time hasn't softened his feelings.

Tila Tequila is not mentally stable enough to continue calling the shots for her daughter ... according to the kid's father.

Thomas Whitaker is fighting for full legal custody of 1-year-old Isabella, and wants to make all decisions for the little girl. He claims Tila has delusions of grandeur ... such as believing she's God.

Thomas says they don't have a formal custody arrangement right now. He's asking the court to grant him child support, and change Isabella's last name from Nguyen (Tila's real last name) to Whitaker.

He's also requesting some new ground rules: no booze for Tila 24 hours before she gets Isabella and while she has her -- plus, no bad-mouthing dad.

Tennessee Titans star Kendall Wright has serious off-season headaches ... his baby mama is taking him to court for child support, and thinks he's getting revenge by repossessing her car.

In court docs obtained by TMZ Sports, Kortney Michelle Owens-Rader says she has a 5-month-old baby boy with Wright named Kendall Jr. -- and the Titans leading receiver agreed in December to pay her $2,100/month in child support, starting in 2016.

The docs make it seem like everything's cool between Kortney and Kendall, but sources close to her say that's not the case. We're told Wright had been "taking care" of Kortney -- a singer signed to Floyd Mayweather's record label -- but nothing was on paper.

Cut to last week when, according to our sources, Kortney's 2014 Cadillac XTS -- a gift from Wright in happier times -- was repossessed. We're told Kortney thinks Wright stopped making payments because he was pissed she took him to court.

This probably won't get better ... they're due back in court in a couple of months. We've reached out to Wright's reps, but nothing back yet.

Sherri Shepherd is going all the way to the Supreme Court ... of Pennsylvania to get off the financial hook for the kid she and estranged husband Lamar Sally had last year through a surrogate.

According to legal docs obtained by TMZ, Shepherd's asking the highest court in the state to relieve her from paying up to $4,600 a month to Sally until their son turns 18. Her reason? She says the first judge overstepped his boundaries in using a surrogacy contract to make her the mom ... even though she's not biologically related to the child.

Lamar tells TMZ ... it's ridiculous Sherri spent nearly $100k to bring their kid into the world, yet wants nothing to do with him. He says it's unfortunate one day the baby will be able to read the lengths Sherri went to in order to be out of his life.

Bristol Palin's new baby daddy may no longer be a mystery ... her ex-fiance says he's the daddy, and he's gunning for some serious custody.

Dakota Meyer filed legal docs, obtained by TMZ, in which he claims he's the biological father of 3-week-old Sailor.

Dakota wants a judge to award him joint legal and physical custody.

Bristol has never publicly revealed the identity of the father. She and Dakota broke up 3 months after conception.

Bristol's baby daddy wants one more thing ... child support.

4:30 PM PT: Sources close to Ciara tell TMZ ... "Ciara has never prevented him from seeing his child. Future is jealous that she has moved on and is happy. He is unable to move on and co-parent in a healthy way."

We're also told Ciara believes Future uses their situation to stay in the press in order to "promote his music."

Future has gone off on baby mama Ciara because she ruined his Christmas by shutting him off from his own son.

We're told Future planned a huge Christmas dinner and wanted all of his kids at the table. Ciara agreed at first but then went radio silent. Baby Future never saw his dad and it sent Future through the roof.

Sources close to the rapper tell us the two parents haven't been on speaking terms for a year. They communicate through a family member but now Ciara won't deal with anyone on his side.

Our sources say the rapper was hoping Ciara's relationship with Seattle Seahawk QB Russell Wilson would make the bitterness subside, but that hasn't happened.

It's so bad ... the rapper thinks it may be time to get a judge involved.

Future is blasting his baby mama Ciara saying she's a "bitch" with control problems and she's preventing him from seeing their 1-year-old son.

Future's sounded off in a series of tweets ... one where he admitted that just to see his kid -- also named Future -- he has to go through lawyers despite the $15k he pays in child support.

Future says he's been silent for a year and half but that's all going to change because he's run out of patience and just wants his kid.

Guy Ritchie and 15-year-old Rocco have formed a united front, and plan to wage a custody war against Madonna ... sources connected with Guy tell TMZ.

Our sources say Rocco has not softened his position ... he now wants to live with his dad. We're told Rocco feels his mom is "too controlling" and doesn't pay him any real attention. It's now been a month since he left Madonna's tour to live with his dad, and he feels more strongly than ever he wants to stay put.

We're told Rocco, like his dad, feels home life in London is more stable and loving. It's no longer just that Rocco doesn't like touring with his mom ... he says he just doesn't want to live with her anymore.

We're told Guy has hired a lawyer to mount a legal fight.

As we reported, our Madonna sources say Guy has gotten in Rocco's ear and is talking trash about her. The two have had a rocky co-parenting experience, often fighting.

A New York judge has ordered Rocco back in the U.S. for a hearing in February.

WNBA star Brittney Griner wants estranged wife Glory Johnson to ante up medical records to prove once and for all whether the kids at the center of their child support war are hers, or a child sired by Glory's ex-boyfriend.

Jeremy Renner's divorce is final, and according to court docs, he'll be paying a fortune in child support.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Renner will pay ex-wife Sonni Pacheco $13k a month in child support for 2-year-old Ava. But that's not all. If Jeremy pulls in more than $2.3 mil a year, he has to pay 5% of the excess as additional child support.

They will share custody.

Sonni gets a big zero in the spousal support department.

Gilbert Arenas is about to lose access to his 4 children if his baby mama has her way ... and it's all over a 15 second video of their 8-year-old son on the hood of a moving vehicle.

Gilbert was on "TMZ Live" Tuesday and scoffed at baby mama Laura Govan's allegation he's a reckless parent by putting little Alijah on the front of a Polaris Slingshot and driving at around 15 MPH.

Gilbert told us he got an email from Laura's people saying they were going to try and take custody away from him, and TMZ Sports has learned he told the truth.

Our sources say Laura -- who currently has primary physical custody -- will go to court and ask the judge to significantly reduce Gilbert's visitation. She also wants the judge to impose safeguards so the kids aren't put in dangerous situations.

As one Laura source put it, "This is just the straw that broke the camel's back. He's done many other things."

Madonna's son didn't have to be sold by Guy Ritchie when the 15-year-old made the decision to stay in London ... we're told Rocco was fed up with the singer, her lifestyle and her parenting skills.

Sources who were on Madonna's tour tell us, Rocco was "miserable" being carted around the world by his mom. As one source put it, "There were horrible, full-blown fights with screaming and crying."

We're told during the Stockholm leg of the tour, Rocco was a no-show when the charter plane was ready to take off ... he had made an escape run, but it appears he eventually came back.

Things deteriorated during the London shows in December. Rocco told his dad he couldn't handle it anymore ... he couldn't take the traveling and the fights. Our sources say Rocco told Guy he felt like Madonna treated him more like a trophy than a son.

Rocco now thinks his mom is jealous of his dad's "stable life" and his desire to live with his dad.

Rocco has been ordered to return to NYC for a court hearing. It will be interesting to hear if his bad feelings dissipate and how much the judge considers his living preference.

Guy Ritchie got in Rocco's ear and drove a wedge between Madonna and the 15-year-old ... sources close to Madonna tell TMZ.

We're told Guy and Madonna have had a "volatile" relationship for years, and Rocco has been a source of conflict. Madonna, we're told, is a strict disciplinarian and "very controlling" ... something that doesn't sit well with Rocco and for that matter most 15 year olds.

Our Madonna sources say Guy was angry at Madonna and used his visit with Rocco to stoke the coals, and it worked.

We're told Madonna isn't worried ... she's confident Rocco's coming back home for good, and this is just part of the co-parenting hand she's been dealt.

Kelly Rutherford lost custody of her 2 children because the judge feared she'd abduct the kids from Monaco, never to return again.

Rutherford lost custody of the children in August to battled ex-husband Daniel Giersch, who is a resident of the country. In a written ruling, obtained by TMZ, the judge said there was "a strong risk of the children's abduction and retention in the United States" -- translation, there was a big chance she'd flee with the kids.

Fact is ... Kelly did do something similar a few months ago, where she refused to return the kids to Monaco after they visited her during the summer.

The judge laid down the law and said not only would Daniel get custody ... Kelly could only visit her kids in France and Monaco.