Earlier this month, reports spread as Jake Ejercito filed for custody over child Ellie Eigenmann in court. This left mom Andi Eigenmann bewildered as she’s long been waiting for Jake to step in as a dad, for him to offer his last name.
The fight is getting uglier. Last Thursday and Friday, Andi took to Twitter to publicly declare what she thinks of the whole situation: an unnecessary move from Jake that would harm Ellie immediately.
Yesterday, Jake posted a long message to counter Andi’s tweets. In it, he accuses her of making the issue all about her, depriving him of the chance to be a dad to Ellie, and making uncalled for shots against his family.
Andi quickly replied, mentioning Jake’s whole name even, as she tried to clear up her side.
She even resorted to app Twitlonger, to send Jake a letter where she says “Aside from the personal values and rules that I would like for my child to abide by, having her father there as much as he could is also at the top of my list.” She even mentioned how she let go of the anger she previously had against Jake, something we saw when she did that Twitter takedown of him a year ago.
The fact the Andi always states that she wants Jake in Ellie’s life is crucial. Atty. Ernest Levanza, who we consulted regarding family law, says that since family issues are very sensitive, it is advised that the parties involved settle it first among themselves. “There is nothing positive that will happen to the child when a case like this is taken to court,” he says. According to him, custody cases should be the last resort if indeed the mother is depriving contact between the child and the father.
Atty. Levanza further clarifies that the need to go to court for custody should have only been done if Andi is seen to be an unfit mother. He says, “In case of separation of parents and when a child is below seven years old, the general rule is that custody should belong to the mother. The exception is when there are compelling reasons such as abandonment, drug addiction, insanity, wherein which Jake should allege and prove in his petition.”
Such conditions, where Jake must prove that Andi is an unfit mother in court automatically prove detrimental to the family life of Ellie, a point that Andi keeps emphasizing throughout this ordeal.
The whole situation also seems to put Andi in a corner as such allegations that can be placed against her are quite extreme. This is the same reason why Andi is taking her cause to social media. It’s clear that she’s trying to reach to Jake and settle it out-of-court.
Andi wants the best for Ellie and even Jake but the Twitter posts make it seem that they are only falling on deaf ears. In such matters, it feels like that there is no hope except for the court deciding in good faith. All is not lost, however. Atty. Levanza also says that “even during the pendency of the case, there is still a chance for the parties to settle it out-of-court.”
In this regard, it looks like Andi won’t stop using social media, a tool which reaches a big audience, to finally get through to the party she’s been struggling to reach an agreement with for the longest time.
Photo courtesy of Andi Eigemann’s Instagram account
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