90 Day Fiance: The Other Way star Jihoon Lee just took the first big step in fighting for his rights as a father. The South Korean reality star officially began the process of his custody battle against Deavan Clegg.
Shortly after launching a GoFundMe campaign, Jihoon and his team are moving forward with the case. It seems the father of one is serious about taking his ex-wife to court and he’s very optimistic about it.
90 Day Fiance: Jihoon Lee hires a lawyer, ready to face Deavan Clegg
Jihoon Lee wasted no time and got straight down to business with his legal team in America. Despite being thousands of miles away, the 90 Day Fiance celeb managed to begin his custody battle against Deavan Clegg.
With the help of his GoFundMe organizer, Amanda Grayce Crosby, Jihoon officially got himself a lawyer to help with his legal bout. Joseph C. Alamilla, 44, is a Utah-based attorney who has 17 years of experience under his belt.
He’s worked with various cases, including those in the criminal and family law field. During an interview on Auntie’s Advice YouTube channel, Alamilla said he was intrigued by Jihoon Lee’s international case.
Being a father himself, Alamilla recognized the importance of Jihoon’s role in Taeyang’s life. Alamilla added that the 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way alum “deserves a fighting chance” just like everybody else.
Jihoon’s attorney shares updates about the case
Family law attorney Joseph Alamilla goes on to share the latest progress in the legal fight between 90 Day Fiance’s Jihoon Lee and Deavan Clegg. According to him, the case is still at the very beginning, and that there’s still a long way to go.
He said Deavan already filed a petition against Jihoon. The TLC star has 30 days to respond to his ex-wife’s claims, which were supposedly due this week. Alamilla pointed out that if his client missed the deadline, Deavan’s party can move for default.
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If that happens, 90 Day Fiance’s Jihoon Lee would “lose access” and “final say” to Taeyang. Fortunately, Jihoon’s legal team managed to file a counterclaim against Deavan Clegg before the deadline. “She put her initial paperwork together, we filed a response, so now, we dance,” Joseph Alamilla said. So far, Deavan is not aware of Jihoon’s filing yet, but her lawyers will get notified right away.
As for the next step, Jihoon Lee’s lawyer said they’re moving to the “discovery” phase of the case. This is where both parties will serve requests for information that can be used on trial.
90 Day Fiance: What to expect in Jihoon and Deavan’s legal battle?
When asked about the GoFundMe, Jihoon Lee’s lawyer said it’ll definitely go a long way. Previously, the 90 Day Fiance star confirmed association with the campaign and thanked everyone who already donated.
Joseph Alamilla said the $50,000 target is enough to cover the cost of Jihoon’s custody battle against Deavan Clegg. However, he said the expenses could still change depending on how hard Deavan’s party is going to fight.
The attorney also warned 90 Day Fiance’s Deavan Clegg and Jihoon Lee about the things they post on social media. He said anything posted that is not true can be used against each other.
90 Day Fiance: The Other Way is currently on hiatus on TLC.