For Luka Doncic, summers have long meant a return to Slovenia. The country has been part of his basketball story since he was a teenager, from his first national-team appearances at 16 to the Olympic stage. But this summer, after the Lakers’ season ended, Doncic made an unusual choice: he would stay away from the Slovenian national team.

The decision came after months in which even a trip home had become complicated. In December, Doncic had flown from Los Angeles to Ljubljana for the birth of his second daughter, Olivia, missing two Lakers games in the process. He returned to the team in time for a game in Philadelphia and later described the trip simply as “a roller coaster.” By May, with his daughters still in Slovenia, he said he had been finding it extremely difficult to see them and chose to give up his summer with the national team to focus on them.

That long-running distance between Los Angeles and Slovenia has now produced a major break for Doncic on one front. Goltes’ attorney has withdrawn the California petition seeking child support and attorney fees, and the Los Angeles County Superior Court has dismissed the case without prejudice.

However, the wider dispute over child support and custody is far from over, with the legal fight now centered in Slovenia.

Luka Doncic’s California Child Support Case Takes an Unexpected Turn

Goltes first filed the California child support petition on March 9, seeking support for the former couple’s two daughters, Gabriela and Olivia. She did not ask the California court to decide custody or visitation, but sought child support under California’s guidelines.

Doncic’s side pushed back almost immediately. On March 20, his attorney Laura Wasser filed a Motion to Quash and Dismiss, arguing that California was not the proper place to handle the dispute because the children were living in Slovenia. Wasser also pointed to the family proceedings already underway there. That argument carried added significance because Dončić had already filed an interim application in Slovenia seeking immediate contact with his daughters, while also addressing joint custody and child support.

Her filing made the Lakers star’s position clear, arguing that the California case was an attempt to take advantage of the state’s child support rules.

“California Petition is a clear attempt to forum shop and avail herself of the generous amounts of child support for which California is well-known.”

Wasser also argued that “Slovenia is the appropriate forum for adjudication of this dispute.”

That argument eventually became central to the California case. The hearing that was originally set for May was pushed back to August 14, and by then, Goltes’ own legal team had changed course.

Dončić’s team was also pushing back on the suggestion that the California filing reflected a failure to provide for the children. Sources close to him told ESPN in March that he had always supported his family and paid his daughters’ expenses “without limitation.”

On August 3, Goltes filed a request to withdraw the California petition. In a declaration attached to the filing, she explained why.

“I am withdrawing my Petition for Child Support with the specific intention of resolving this matter amicably and by a mutual agreement which is in the best interests of our children.”

The filing did not immediately end the case, though. Court clerks rejected the first withdrawal submission over procedural issues, including the lack of a required responsive signature after Doncic’s side had already filed its motion.

That set the stage for Friday’s hearing.

Laura Wasser Wasn’t Letting the Moment Pass

The August 14 hearing was held remotely, with Wasser representing Doncic and Evan C. Itzkowitz representing Goltes. Once the withdrawal came up, Wasser made it clear that this was exactly what her side had been asking for.

“I believe that was in our paperwork, your honor, that this never should have been filed in the first place…”

She then asked Itzkowitz to confirm that Goltes was withdrawing the entire action and noted that, if that was the case, the court would not need to rule on Wasser’s motion to quash. Itzkowitz agreed.

Itzkowitz explained that the first withdrawal paperwork had been rejected by the clerk’s office because of a signature issue and that corrected paperwork had been submitted after a recommendation from the clerk. Once the paperwork was properly before the court, the judge dismissed the California petition.

The dismissal was without prejudice, which is an important detail. It means the court closed the California case without making a final ruling on the underlying child support dispute. Goltes can potentially file again if the legal requirements for California jurisdiction are met.

So while Doncic has escaped the immediate California proceeding, the ruling does not mean a court has decided that he owes no child support.

The Bigger Fight Has Now Shifted to Slovenia

The timing of Goltes’ California withdrawal is especially interesting because the former couple’s dispute was already playing out in Slovenia.

On August 6, TMZ Sports reported that Goltes had made a $50 million settlement demand in Slovenia. According to the report, she was seeking $40 million for herself, while TMZ said the remaining $10 million was apparently connected to the couple’s two daughters. The report also said she wanted Doncic’s parenting time reduced from two days per week to one.

That $50 million figure is a reported demand, not a court-ordered payment or an established debt. And because the reported breakdown of the $50 million includes an inference about the remaining $10 million, it should not be presented as a confirmed court figure.

The Slovenian proceedings also predate the California filing. On February 26, Dončić filed an interim application there seeking immediate contact with Gabriela and Olivia. ESPN reported that the filing also addressed joint custody and child support.

That helps explain why Doncic’s side fought the California case so hard. From his team’s perspective, the California petition was being brought while a related family-law process was already underway in the country where the children live.

It also puts Dončić’s decision to skip Slovenia’s national team this summer in a different light. In May, he said he was choosing time with his daughters over playing for his country because it had become “extremely difficult” for him to see them over the previous eight months.

A Family Dispute That Changed Across One NBA Season

The legal dispute comes only months after Doncic confirmed that his engagement to Goltes had ended.

The couple first met as children and began dating in 2016 while Doncic was playing for Real Madrid. They became engaged near Slovenia’s Bled Castle in July 2023, with Doncic marking the date with “7.7,” a nod to his No. 77 jersey.

They welcomed their first daughter, Gabriela, in the United States in November 2023. Their second daughter, Olivia, was born in Slovenia in December 2025, after Dončić had been traded from Dallas to Los Angeles.

Dončić had traveled home specifically to be there for Olivia’s birth, missing the Lakers’ games against Toronto and Boston. But ESPN later reported that a disagreement between Dončić and Goltes followed at Kranj Maternity Hospital when Dončić expressed a desire to bring Gabriela back to the United States. Police were called to the hospital on Dec. 6. According to a police report reviewed by ESPN, officers “did not detect any elements of a criminal offense or misdemeanor” by Dončić. He left the hospital peacefully and flew back to the United States that day.

When asked about that trip after rejoining the Lakers, Dončić said: “I don’t even know how to describe it. It was a lot. I was there for the birth of my daughter, so that means everything to me. But it was definitely a roller coaster.”

By March, the engagement was over. Dončić then made his position public, saying his daughters were the reason behind the decision and that he would continue fighting to be with them.

“I love my daughters more than anything, and I’ve been doing everything I can for them to be with me in the U.S. during the season, but that hasn’t been possible, so I recently made the tough decision to end my engagement. Everything I do is for my daughters’ happiness and I will always fight to be with them and give them the best life I can.”

The California petition followed that announcement, turning a dispute that had largely been unfolding privately in Slovenia into a public legal matter in Los Angeles.

For now, that California chapter is closed. The court’s dismissal without prejudice gives Doncic a reprieve from the proceeding Wasser had challenged from the outset, but it does not settle the questions of support, custody or parenting time. Those issues remain part of the broader dispute, with Slovenia still playing a central role.