Under allegations of infidelity on both sides, what was already a contentious divorce proceeding turned uglier when TLC fired Jon from the show, renaming it “Kate Plus 8” last month. Jon retaliated by stopping production on the show, halting the family’s main income stream. Both Jon and Kate have accused each other of taking large sums of money from their joint bank account. Every day brings more bad behavior and headlines.

With all this drama going on, what’s going to happen to their eight kids (twins and sextuplets)? Per the separation agreement, the children have remained in the original family home in Pennsylvania, while Jon and Kate have been taking turns staying there when they have their visitation. However, there are signs that the joint-custody arrangement won’t be intact for long. Earlier this month, in an interview with ET, Jon revealed that for the twins’ birthday party, Kate requested that he only be at their home from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. rather than for the entire party. He also alleged that Kate attempted to revise the custody agreement for the following weekend, saying she gave him a schedule.

A judge will do what’s in the best interest of the children and is unlikely to split the children apart unless there’s a very good reason to do so. If Jon and Kate can’t resolve their disputes over joint custody, it’s possible that one of them will be awarded full custody. Since mothers are typically awarded custody, simply being the kids’ mother gives Kate an advantage. To support her case, Kate might look to gather evidence that Jon is behaving inappropriately or recklessly around the children. Another couple might need to hire a private investigator to collect proof of this, but with all the media coverage they receive, it would likely be caught on camera.

Stay tuned for more drama and updates on this case…

Katherine Jackson

Pros: By all accounts, Katherine has a close relationship with her grandchildren and was named their guardian in Michael’s will. She also was awarded temporary guardianship of her grandchildren by a California judge, so the children are currently living with her.

Cons: She is 79 years old, which some may consider too old to raise adolescents and a young child. Her husband, Joe, has long been described by Michael as being emotionally and physically abusive.

Debbie Rowe

Pros: She is the biological mother of the two oldest children, and biological parents usually win custody unless if it is considered “detrimental to the children”.

Cons: She has had minimal contact with her children for nearly a decade and has publicly said she considered them to be Michael’s children, not hers. She has no biological ties to Blanket.

Since the three children have always lived together, a judge is unlikely to split them apart. That eliminates a scenario where Debbie is awarded custody of her biological children and Katherine is awarded custody of Blanket, which would not be in the best interest of the children. Even though Debbie is the biological parent of Prince Michael and Paris, she is practically a stranger to them.

The only shot Debbie has of winning custody is if she is able to prove either that Katherine’s age prevents her from properly taking care of the children or that Joe is physically and/or emotionally abusive, putting the children at risk. She could hire a private investigator to gather this evidence through surveillance or background research. Barring that, I think Katherine will be awarded custody of all three children.