Fairly Legal

Taylor Frankie Paul is getting her day in court ... going toe-to-toe with her ex Dakota Mortensen in a protection hearing ... and a judge is giving Taylor supervised parent time with their two-year-old son.

The judge's ruling followed an hours-long hearing in Utah ... and he says Taylor can see her son for up to 8 hours of supervised parent time each week. The judge says this is a temporary custody arrangement for 3 weeks and 2 days until the next court hearing on April 30. Taylor can break up the 8 hours with her kid into 2-hour or 3-hour increments.

Dakota previously filed a temporary restraining order against TFP and is asking the court to extend the protective order into a long-term one, as authorities investigate accusations of domestic violence, which Dakota brought against Taylor.

Remember ... the temporary protective order meant that Taylor also temporarily lost custody of the couple's 2-year-old son, Ever.

11:14 AM PT -- In her TRO filing, Taylor Frankie Paul is finally going deep into the gritty details about her side of the domestic violence drama between her and her ex Dakota Mortensen. She says Dakota displayed signs of crazy jealousy -- stalking her, assaulting her, and becoming "increasingly possessive" ahead of her debut on "The Bachelorette." According to TFP, Dakota got her initials tattooed on the inside of his lip -- something she says she found out about leading up to their February altercation.

And while Dakota is accusing TFP of assaulting him in that incident, she says he actually assaulted her in that confrontation in February. Taylor accuses Dakota of slamming her head against the dashboard of his car while in Taylor's driveway.

Even wilder ... Taylor says he asked her for sex right after. According to Taylor, after she denied his advances, Dakota called the police on her.

Taylor Frankie Paul is going on the offensive ... the reality star has just filed a temporary restraining order against her ex Dakota Mortensen, TMZ has learned.

The filing, obtained by TMZ, comes before the estranged couple's court hearing today concerning a protective order that was granted to Dakota against Taylor.

Taylor Frankie Paul submitted an avalanche of evidence to fight Dakota Mortensen's plea for a restraining order against her, TMZ has learned.

According to court docs, obtained by TMZ, Taylor and her legal team filed a bunch of photos purportedly showing injuries after an alleged May 2025 assault ... and bruises on her forehead and knee from an alleged assault on February 23, 2026. 

Other evidence includes "possessive texts" from Dakota and a screenshot of Dakota's request for sex after the February 23, 2026, incident ... the texts predate the incident. The photos of the bruising and the screenshot of the request for sex came after.

As TMZ first reported, Taylor and Dakota are facing off in court later today. Earlier this morning, the Mormon Wives star filed her own request for a protective order against Dakota. 

Michael Jackson’s estate continues to provide for the late pop star’s kids, including dropping thousands on tuition for his oldest son and tens of thousands for his daughter Paris’ home improvements ... this according to new legal docs filed by the estate.

TMZ obtained the 2022 accounting report submitted by John Branca and John McClain, the two executors who run Michael’s estate.

The executors said 2022 was “another banner year for the estate.” Branca and McClain pointed out the estate launched "MJ: The Musical" on Broadway, which made a ton of money and received acclaim.

The Michael Jackson estate reportedly shelled out millions to cut any mention of child molestation accusations in the end of "Michael" ... and because of it, they now own a stake in the film.

The late singer's estate is estimated to have coughed up between $10M and $15M to complete "necessary" reshoots for the movie, according to Variety.

The publication reports the biopic was originally supposed to explore the impact that child molestation accusations had on Jackson's life ... but now there's not even a mention of the accusations, because of a clause in a settlement with one of Jackson's accusers. Jordan Chandler reportedly barred the mention of him in any movie.

Timothy Busfield's accusers say he touched their kids inappropriately on set ... but the actor-director's lawyer says they're bloodthirsty scammers -- out for either money or revenge.

Busfield's civil attorney, Larry Stein, told NewsNation on Monday that the children's parents have been labeled by the Department of Justice as scammers, and he says they coerced their children to lie about the accusations to get back at Busfield.

Remember ... the kids' father is a disbarred lawyer who reportedly did jail time for cheating people out of millions of dollars -- meanwhile, Stein says the mother got caught passing bad checks at Las Vegas casinos.

Paris Jackson's not letting the drama with her dad Michael's estate get her down ... visiting a Beverly Hills salon for some much-needed self-care.

Michael Jackson's middle child stepped out for a relaxing afternoon on Monday ... rocking a plaid shirt over a crop top and a pair of booty shorts.

She added cowboy boots to the ensemble ... and christened herself a "Cowboy" with an orange hat that featured the word prominently in white script.

Nancy Matayer Bowen and her husband -- who's been arrested, accused of murdering her -- were locked in a legal battle with their homeowners association months before the Coral Springs, Florida vice mayor was slain, TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, Nancy and Stephen were sued in November 2025 by their homeowners association.

The HOA claimed the couple defaulted on certain fees and asked for permission to foreclose on the home to collect.

Late pop star Aaron Carter’s mom Jane Schenck's fight with his ex-fiancée Melanie Martin over his estate was shut down in court, TMZ has learned. 

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge denied Jane’s effort to block the estate from closing ... finding the estate was insolvent and ordering the distribution of its non-cash assets to Melanie. 

Jane believed the trustee in charge had undervalued the value of Aaron’s royalties. She also alleged Melanie had made “illegal withdrawals” from Aaron’s accounts totaling $24,530. 

Former WWE champion Alberto del Rio appears to be in legal trouble down in Mexico, where he allegedly physically assaulted his wife.

Alberto was detained by law enforcement in San Luis Potosí, a large Mexican state, according to multiple reports Monday.

The detainment was reportedly the result of a complaint filed by Alberto's wife, who alleged he beat her.

Caitlyn Jenner has filed a hefty creditor's claim against the estate of her late friend and former manager, Sophia Hutchins -- alleging she's owed nearly half a million dollars.

According to legal docs, obtained by TMZ, Jenner claims Hutchins racked up $439,095.88 in unpaid expenses before her death, including credit card charges, cash advances, shopping, and her portion of some shared legal fees.

The docs detail where the money allegedly went, including spending at companies like Shopify, eBay, 1stdibs, and other online retailers.

Joseph Duggar's arrest on child molestation allegations prompted an email from his brother-in-law Austin Forsyth ... with Austin offering to help Joseph's wife, Kendra Duggar, get through things.

In new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, there's an email exchange between Joseph and Austin, who is married to Joseph's sister, "19 Kids and Counting" star Joy-Anna.

Austin emailed Joseph on March 25, while Joseph was behind bars at the Washington County Detention Center in Arkansas following allegations he molested a 9-year-old girl in Florida.

Sia will be cutting a hefty check to her estranged husband Dan Bernad ... and it’s all for child support, paid on the first of each month like clockwork.

TMZ’s obtained docs showing Sia agreed to fork over $42,500 a month in child support to Dan Bernad starting April 1, 2026.

The custody split is locked in too -- with the couple sharing legal custody and splitting up holidays ... Hanukkah and Father’s Day are going Dan’s way, while Sia keeps Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day.

As we told you, the two have been going through a messy divorce and custody fight over their son, Somersault -- with Sia repped by disso queen Laura Wasser. 

Howard Stern and his wife Beth are being sued by a woman who claims they fostered a hostile work environment when she was their executive assistant.

A woman named Leslie Kuhn is going after Howard and Beth in a New York court ... she says when she worked as Howard and Beth's executive assistant, they asked her to move into their 20,000-square-foot Southampton mansion, where she claims Beth put a lot on her plate.

Kuhn claims Beth tasked her with managing the mansion's staff ... including scheduling, completing payroll, and managing general household operations like Beth's at-home cat rescue and fostering operation.

Lil Nas X got some good news in court on Monday ... a judge accepted his motion to enter a mental health diversion program in his felony police battery case, TMZ confirmed.

That means all he has to do is keep up his treatment and stay out of trouble for the next two years ... and his case will be dismissed.

The singer was seen smiling leaving the courthouse ... telling reporters he's feeling "thankful" after the hearing.

There's a bit of a legal snag after Coral Springs Vice Mayor Nancy Metayer Bowen's husband was charged with her murder in Florida.

Court papers were filed Monday asking the judge to "relieve the Public Defender from further representation" of Nancy's husband, Stephen Bowen ... saying it'd be a conflict of interest.

In the motion obtained by TMZ, the Broward County public defender's office says they're "ethically precluded" from representing Bowen because several members of their office "had both personal and professional relationships" with Nancy.