Taylor Frankie Paul’s legal team has issued a response following concerns raised by child welfare officials regarding the welfare of her three children.
According to legal documents published by TMZ on Wednesday, July 15, Utah’s Division of Child and Family Services has submitted a petition to a juvenile court. The petition requests a determination that her three children are “abused, neglected or dependent.”
The petition further requests that the judge implements protective supervision services, appoints a guardian ad litem to advocate for the children, and issues any additional orders that would be in their best interests.
According to the outlet, the Utah Attorney General’s Office filed this petition during the week and has sought an expedited hearing.
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star, 32, is the mother of son Ever, 2, with Dakota Mortensen, and two children — daughter Indy, 8, and son Ocean, 6 — with her ex, Tate Paul.
Responding to the news of the filing, the reality TV star’s legal representatives provided a statement to Us Weekly on Thursday, July 16.
“It was recently decided that the ongoing custody actions would be best suited for juvenile court, a common step for families engaged in highly contentious, complex custody matters,” Paul’s legal representatives stated. “Taylor is not deterred by this transition; she welcomes the added structure and oversight it provides and looks forward to continuing her progress toward normalizing custody and becoming the healthiest version of herself.”
Taylor Frankie Paul (Photo by JC Olivera/Variety via Getty Images)
The statement continued: “Taylor remains fully committed to doing whatever is necessary to reach that goal and will not be swayed from it. Taylor appreciates the professionalism of DCFS and its representatives.”
Last week, Paul shared a cryptic post on social media amid her ongoing legal and custody challenges.
“Today was extremely difficult, meanwhile, there has been at least 12+ people throughout this trying to make it harder,” Paul wrote in an Instagram Story on July 8. “Thank you God for revealing them all want to be nothing like them.”
She further added, “They bully, I defend myself. not the same. Pay attention how this plays out. I trust.”
It remains unclear who Paul was referencing in her social media post. However, this message was posted shortly after her court appearance amidst the ongoing custody dispute over Ever with Mortensen. On July 8, both Paul and Mortensen achieved favorable outcomes.
The judge ruled that Paul will have increased unsupervised time with Ever, extending her weekend visits. This ruling was made despite Mortensen’s legal team’s claim that Paul has utilized “less than half” of her allotted parenting time. Additionally, on July 8, Mortensen was granted extended weekends with Ever. (Initially, Mortensen was awarded temporary custody of Ever in March.)
