There may be a thaw in the contentious relationship between Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, suggests K-Fed’s attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan.

Spears, who last week was awarded more time with her sons with Federline (Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1), was the hot topic of discussion for Mark Vincent Kaplan, on Monday morning’s Today show.

Mark Vincent Kaplan, left, has hopes for improved relations between former spouses Britney Spears and Kevin Federline (seen here in a classic 2004 file photo).

The attorney said that the judge’s decision at last week’s ruling reflected a significant “improvement” in Britney Spears‘ mental health.

She spent two full days, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., on both Thursday, May 8 and yesterday, May 11 (Mother’s Day) with her l’il sons.

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Britney Spears’ visitation rights with sons Sean Preston and Jayden James have been expanded following a hearing with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

There is no change in custody, K-Fed’s attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan said at a press conference, but overnight visits for Britney Spears (who has been without them for months) “will be phased in in the near future.”

“The court made orders today, orders that the parties were able to mostly agree to,” Kaplan said. “It represents a a cautious step moving forward.”

Britney Spears arriving and leaving the May 6 court hearing.

Mark Vincent Kaplan added that the court was “pleased with the progress that seems to be occurring” with Britney Spears daily, and said that he believes Tuesday’s court ruling is “a step in the right direction.

“The children (Sean Preston and Jayden James) are doing great — that’s the key,” Kaplan also said. “That’s what all of this is about.”

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Britney Spears plans to personally attend a hearing Tuesday in a Los Angeles family court, a court spokesman has confirmed.

“It’s a hearing to discuss the status of her case,” said court rep Allan Parachini of the long-anticipated custody battle court date.

Asked if her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, would show up in person as well, his lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan replied, “Kevin has been at every important hearing. I view Tuesday as an important hearing.”

Britney and K-Fed: Together again (in court).

Britney Spears, 26, returned to Los Angeles Sunday night after flying to Kentwood, La., to attend a baby shower for her pregnant 17-year-old l’il sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, over the weekend.

The pantsless pop princess presently has monitored visitation rights with her sons, Sean Preston Federline, 2, and Jayden James Federline, 1, several times per week (including Mother’s Day), but no overnight rights.

A report was completed by the ex-couple’s child custody evaluator in recent weeks, which could heavily influence future visitation arrangements.

The pop star’s father, Jamie Spears, and his lawyer, Andrew Wallet, remain in legal control of her affairs until at least a July 31 hearing.

By the cojones, no less!

What gossip fan can forget this celebrity photo classic, starring the newly-engaged and ultra-horny Britney Spears and Kevin Federline, from back in 2004. Ah, to be young, in love and grabbing your fiance’s package on a hotel balcony…

After a brief courtship, Britney Spears and K-Fed married, fornicated a lot, had two kids, and called it quits about two years later. Good times.

Celebrating her single status as of late 2006, Britney embarked on an epic binge of clubbing (with no panties on most of the time), violating traffic laws, hooking up with (then quickly discarding) random boyfriends, neglecting Sean and Jayden, and being committed to the psychiatric wards of two different hospitals.

Maybe being with Kevin wasn’t that bad after all…

A $1,100 tip at an L.A. restaurant, a $2,000 tip at a Vegas strip club, and on and on and on. Kevin Federline’s spending, detailed in court documents, certainly has his critics buzzing over his apparently lavish lifestyle.

Enter Mark Vincent Kaplan.

K-Fed’s attorney and confidant says, basically, that the haters need to look at the bigger picture before passing judgment on his client.

“He’s totally getting a bad rap here,” says Kaplan, who says that the “court of public opinion” is focusing on “a few expenditures.” “It seems like an unnecessary attempt to knock him when there’s really no basis to do so.”

Kaplan claims that even the most ridiculed charge on the list of K-Fed’s business expenses - a $2,000 Scores strip club tip - has an explanation.

“That was for a group of people for a friend’s bachelor party,” he said, adding that it wasn’t even a tip at all: “That’s just how the club categorized it.”

Many of Federline’s tips are certainly far from extravagant. During a September trip to Fat Tony’s Italian Restaurant, he tipped $10 on a $41.69 bill.

The papers - used by Britney Spears’ legal team to try to prove he, not Britney, should pay his own damn legal bills, show two sides to K-Fed, however.

Last August, he spent $304.30 to fly to Las Vegas on low-cost Southwest Airlines. But once he was there, he did not hold back, dropping $3,038.69 at the Hard Rock Beach Club, $3,863.50 at the hot club Tao, and $10,220.65 at The Venetian.

Some of his spending is less rock star and more average dad. Charges at Target ($115.10), IKEA ($246.66) and Albertson’s grocery store ($405.75) fill his statements, with occasional shopping sprees … at toy stores.

Mark Vincent Kaplan disagrees with Britney Spears’ lawyers, who claim that the larger expenses suggest Federline should foot some of the massive fees she has been ordered to pay as a result of their custody battle.

“Don’t focus on whether he spent too much money going on a vacation or going to a restaurant,” says Kaplan. “Focus – as the court does – on was he reasonable having to incur these [court] fees? The answer is a resounding yes.”

Kaplan says that the fees were “built up quite frankly by the conduct of [Britney Spears]” during some her court-delaying, widely-public antics.

“I don’t think the court should be distracted by the fact that he went to Las Vegas and spent $1,000 or $5,000,” says Kaplan. “It’s not relevant.”

Kevin Federline has lied about his income and charged up some ridiculous expenses, including enormous tips, according to new court documents.

Britney Spears’ newest lawyer, Stacy Phillips, filed documents challenging the legal fees that Brit was ordered to pay for the FedEx man, TMZ reports.

Phillips claims K-Fed “understated his income by at least $200,000.”

The attorney also says that Kevin Federline buried all sorts of personal expenses and pretended to have $800,000 worth of business expenses.

This upstanding guy and dad to Sean Preston and Jayden James Federline grossed $544,074.73 from his production company, “Gooseneck Productions,” in 2007.

He said his expenses were $841,128.67, which raised Stacy Phillips’ eyebrows.

She said that Federlizzle’s so-called “business expenses” included “extraordinarily high tips for food and beverage services, e.g., $1,100.76 tip on $2,782 bill; $200 tip on $371.29 bill; and $2,000 tip on $365 bill (at Scores no less).

Well, at least we know K-Fed is not a cheapskate like those dudes who pay 10 percent on the bill no matter how large it is… man, those people suck.

Some of these fine institutions billed charges to Federline’s credit card business accounts: Ralph’s, Babies ‘R Us, Encino Park Liquor, Garrett Popcorn Shop, Blockbuster, Ikea, Smart & Final, Onstar Service Plan, Big Fish Games, Target, Boston Market, Big 5 Sporting Goods, Party House Liquor, Waste Management, Quiznos, The Spirit Shoppe, Roundtable Pizza, Honey Baked Ham, Burger King, Foot Locker, The Liquor Works, PF Chang’s, Victoria’s Secret, Privilege, Ann Taylor, Wendy’s, Chili’s, NikeTown, In N’ Out Burger, and of course, Corbin Liquor.

That’s how he rolls, folks. Mark Vincent Kaplan had no comment.

Kevin Federline’s lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan, says that with the help of father Jamie Spears, Britney Spears is heading in the right direction.

But he urged restraint in saying the pop star is fully recovered.

“Jamie is doing a really good job,” Kaplan said. “There was a situation and that seems to be stabilized. Does that mean she’s cured? Of course not.”

Kaplan noted that Spears’ negative press has diminished noticeably, and that her successes - from her How I Met Your Mother role to reports that she is working again with former manager Larry Rudolph - are making news.

He calls her father Jamie Spears’ many important steps to improve Britney Spears’ well being and diffuse the struggling pop singer’s once tumultuous lifestyle “very smart,” adding that, “Obviously before [Jamie Spears] stepped in, it wasn’t a question of what was going to happen - it was a question of when.”

A healthy, happy Britney Spears is something that ex-husband Kevin Federline has been always yearning for, says Mark Vincent Kaplan.

As for his own professional interest in the Britney Spears custody case, which is no longer dominating Los Angeles’ family court system?

“I look forward to the time when I can be bored,” Mark Vincent Kaplan said.

We will give Star Magazine this much: It’s been a slow couple of months for those of us who thrive on Britney Spears news and gossip.

That being said, this celebrity news magazine and others like it are stooping to new lows and going to new extremes to fill a sudden Spears void.

They claim Britney Spears and Kevin Federline had a “secret meeting” during Easter weekend. At this time, they decided to run away Maui.

K-Fed, who was in Las Vegas hosting his own birthday party that weekend while Britney was in L.A., has already denied this via his rep.

It gets better. Backing up the made-up story is a photo of Britney and Kevin on a beach, enjoying a relaxing getaway … on their honeymoon in 2004.

What’s more amazing? This isn’t even the worst Britney Spears celebrity gossip reporting job of the week! That honor belongs to the great OK! Magazine, which features a Britney Spears photo from 2003 to bolster its cover story.

SLOW NEWS WEEK: With little juicy gossip out there, these celebrity news sources decided to bust out old Britney Spears pics and make some $h!t up. Standard.

Proving that they’re really grasping at straws, a Star “source” also claims Brit bought K-Fed a $138,000 diamond watch during their fake tropical jaunt.

Yeah, right. We had already figured out that this whole Spederline reuniting story was about as real as Heidi Montag’s rack, but come on now, Star.

At least if you had written that Britney bought the FedEx man a $25 Casio, we might have believed it and kept reading … at least for a minute or two.

Most of the time these days, he’s best known as a doting father to Sean Preston and Jayden James. And his other kids Kaleb and Kori.

But on Friday night, Britney Spears‘ ex-husband took a break from parenting to ring in his 30th birthday at Pure Nightclub in Las Vegas.

Also known as Kevin Federline’s home away from home.

A dapper-looking Federline - the subject of this week’s Caption Contest at The Hollywood Gossip - said he felt “great” about turning 30.

Flanked by a group of 20 pals, including his family members and attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan, Federline headed straight to his VIP table.

Also on hand? Ex-girlfriend and baby mama Shar Jackson!

K-Fed: A year older, not necessarily wiser.

Throughout the evening, K-Fed and his entourage sang along to tunes by Jay-Z, Kanye West and other hip-hop artists.

At one point, the DJs played Federline’s own song “Lose Control,” familiar to the club considering its music video was shot there in 2006.

Close to midnight, Kevin Federline danced on a couch by his table and held up a California license plate saying “FDRLINE” while drinking Jack Daniel’s.

Later on, the FedEx man grabbed the mic for a rambling profanity-laced speech in which he encouraged everyone to have “a good time.”

“I lost my voice at the craps tables and I lost all my money,” he went on to say in a raspy voice, before a friend dragged him away.

Welcome to all celebrity news and gossip across the world. The Hollywood Gossip Caption Contest. Let’s take a look at who won this week’s edition of the caption contest, featuring the great Kevin Federline, and his friend Jack …

Really, you guys make it very hard to pick a winner with your great entries. But we have to choose one, so we took Debbie. A short and sweet one.

Congratulations! Scroll down the page for the winning entry (under the pic) and the full list of submissions. Thanks for playing and good luck again this week!

“This is why I got custody!”