Anne Heche and Hubby Call Custody Truce

Wed., May. 30, 2007 4:58 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Anna Heche and Coley Laffoon are firmly entrenched in separate corners but they're willing to meet in the middle, at least as far as their child is concerned.

The estranged couple have agreed on a short-term custody arrangement for their five-year-old son, Homer, and have agreed to stop lashing out at each other in front of the boy, according to court documents filed May 22 in Los Angeles Superior Court and released Wednesday to E! News.

From now until July 22, when Heche heads back to Vancouver to start filming the second season of the ABC comedy Men in Trees, she and Laffoon will transport Homer back and forth between them every few days. After which, Laffoon will bring Homer to Canada, where the child will spend the summer with his mom.

The soon-to-be ex-spouses also agreed to "refrain from making derogatory remarks" about each other in front of Homer.

This temporary resolution comes after Laffoon alleged in court papers filed earlier this month that Homer has been suffering from nightmares since returning from his last Vancouver visit. Laffoon also expressed concern over Heche's allegedly "poor parenting skills" and requested that she undergo a psychological evaluation.

The freelance videographer, who stated that he quit working to be a stay-at-home dad and has been his son's primary caretaker since the child was born, is asking for $33,000 a month in child support and joint custody.

Heche, who chronicled her struggle with mental illness in her 2001 memoir Call Me Crazy, fired back by accusing her hubby of five and a half years of resorting to "lies and distortions" to get her to shell out more money, putting the original figure he had asked for at $45,000. She stated in a court filing that Laffoon was more likely to leave Homer with nannies while he went about a life of leisure—which included such pursuits as playing ping-pong, backgammon and poker, looking at Internet porn and "going to strip clubs all day."

The 37-year-old actress also said in a statement issued by her publicist that Laffoon was trying to get back at her because "she would not cave in to his astronomical money demands."

Instead, Heche will fork over $19,000 for the month of May, according to the newest filing.

She and Laffoon are due to participate in mediation June 5 and a hearing is scheduled for June 11.