LOS ANGELES - The divorce between Britney Spears and Kevin Federline and their battle for custody of their children has already cost the singer about a million dollars, her lawyer told a hearing Monday.
Lawyer Stacy Phillips called on the presiding judge in the case, Scott Gordon, to limit the allowance Spears has had to give Federline to pay his lawyers to 175,000 dollars, warning she was not an "open checkbook."
Since the judge ordered Spears to pay for her ex-husband's legal fees, his lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan -- who charges 600 dollars an hour -- has claimed about half a million dollars.
For her part, Spears who was not present at Monday's hearing owes about 600,000 dollars to her old lawyers, according to gossip site TMZ.com.
The judge is considering Phillips' appeal.
Spears shot to superstardom in late 1998 with her smash-hit debut album "Baby One More Time," which she followed with another chart-topping success the following year, "Oops! ... I Did It Again."
But her career has been locked in a downward spiral since her split from Federline in 2006, and their divorce last summer.
Federline has been granted temporary custody of their children, two-year-old Sean Preston and Jayden James, aged one.
After Spears was admitted to psychiatric care earlier this year, her father took control of her financial and business affairs at least until July 31. - AFP/fa
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Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:25 am