Jelly Roll + Bunnie Xo Split: Legal Expert Says Unborn Baby Could Result in a ‘Two-Part Divorce’

How Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo's custody plans for their unborn child will unfold depends largely on the timeline of the baby's birth, according to family and divorce attorney and Las Vegas family court judge candidate Amber Candelaria.

• Jelly and Bunnie's split made news in mid-June, though he actually filed divorce paperwork on May 18.
• Documents listed the reason for their divorce as "irreconcilable differences."
• In a tell-all episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast, Bunnie revealed how a pattern of poor communication and a Mother's Day (May 10) fight spurred the decision to end their marriage.
• That same podcast included the bombshell revelation that the couple is still pursuing plans to have a baby via IVF and surrogacy, even though their marriage is ending.

Those plans, coupled with how Jelly and Bunnie have emphasized that they're still best friends amid their divorce, shows a growing national trend of "unconventional families," Candelaria says.

"Or rather, us realizing they're not unconventional," she adds. "There's more families like this than are being recognized."

Read More: Jelly Roll + Bunnie Xo Still Want a Baby Together Amid Divorce

Candelaria tells Taste of Country that "the law is catching up" — but still, Jelly and Bunnie will face some unique legal problems as they sort out custody of their baby-to-be.

How Will Jelly Roll + Bunnie Xo's Custody of Their Unborn Child Work After Divorce?

That depends on the timing.

If a pregnancy is underway before the split is finalized, Candelaria says that many states would handle this as a "two-part divorce": Courts would work out divisions of assets and other divorce proceedings before the baby's birth, and then return to the subject of custody once the child is born.

Read More: Bunnie Xo Reveals Why She + Jelly Roll Divorced, What's Next

But if the entire pregnancy takes place after the divorce is finalized, that's "trickier," she says.

"In Tennessee, moms have default 100 percent custody [in the case of pregnancies that take place outside a marriage]," Candelaria points out. "So in this case they would need to be really careful and enter into the correct paperwork, so that both Jelly Roll and Bunnie would be recognized as parents at the time of the birth."

"Otherwise Jelly Roll would have some legal hurdles to get over," she adds.

Is Jelly Roll + Bunnie Xo's Surrogate Pregnant Right Now?

Short answer: We don't know.

While Jelly and Bunnie have shared many of the details of their work toward having a baby, including the toll that IVF medications and egg retrieval procedures took on them, and the four embryos they've lost. But they've purposely kept the timeline pretty vague.

Bunnie's said that she plans to wait until after the baby is born — maybe even up to a year after —to announce his or her birth to the world.

Erika Goldring, Getty Images

Eagle-eared podcast listeners will catch her referring to their unborn baby as "he" and "him" in her new post-divorce episode.To hear her talk about it, it certainly sounds like the baby's birth is happening soon.

But remember, Jelly and Bunnie did IVF, meaning that they likely knew the sex of the embryo even before a transfer. So it's wise to avoid jumping to conclusions about how far along they are into a potential pregnancy based on Bunnie knowing the sex of their baby.

Read More: Jelly Roll + Bunnie Xo's Relationship Timeline

On the other hand, divorce documents stated that Jelly and Bunnie share no minor children together. But that doesn't necessarily mean they don't share a pregnancy, Candelaria clarifies.

"I can't speak for all states, but most states do not rule on custody or recognize a child, so to speak, until the child is actually born," she says.

In other words, Jelly and Bunnie's surrogate could well be pregnant, despite the documents saying that they have no children. That would just mean that they'll need to go through another round of paperwork after the baby's birth.

Will Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo Share 50/50 Custody of Their Unborn Child?

That's probably the outcome a court will favor.

"In Tennessee, there's a very, very strong preference for 50/50 custody," Candelaria relates.

She thinks it's a likely possibility that that will be the case here, even though Jelly is a touring country superstar who spends much of the year traveling for concerts and professional obligations.

"Bunnie could ask the court to take into consideration his touring schedule, and that he's busy," she acknowledges, "But...the court would normally just grant them that joint legal custody, and physical, and they would need to find out how that would work between the two of them."