Olivier Martinez says his 13-year-old son with Halle Berry wants to testify in custody proceedings

Olivier Martinez said in court filings that the 13-year-old son he shares with Halle Berry wants to testify during their custody hearings.

The dispute between Halle Berry and Olivier Martinez has narrowed to a procedural question with significant weight behind it: whether their 13-year-old son speaks to a judge himself.

PEOPLE obtained new court documents in which Martinez, 60, states that Maceo wants to address the court to provide his own account during upcoming custody hearings, including his preferences about living arrangements and what he says occurred on Sept. 26.

“He should have the opportunity to have his voice heard regarding what he experienced that night,” Martinez wrote, adding that barring the teenager from speaking could discourage him from reporting concerns in the future.

Martinez indicated he expects opposition. He wrote that he anticipates Berry will attempt to prevent their son from addressing the court directly, framing the testimony as central to establishing what happened. “I am the parent who wants the truth to come out,” he wrote.

He also claimed Maceo has expressed worry that adults will side with his mother, saying the teenager told him previous complaints to therapists were downplayed or dismissed.

The filings follow Martinez’s Oct. 1 petition for sole custody, in which he alleged Berry was physically abusive during the September incident and in other instances.

Berry has rejected the accusations entirely. In a declaration filed Oct. 5, the 60-year-old actress wrote that she has never abused Maceo in any form, and identified herself as a survivor of domestic violence who works with other survivors. “I am not a perpetrator of violence,” she wrote. “I would never hurt our child.”

Her attorney, Marina Beck, called the filing meritless and deliberately misleading, saying Berry is accustomed to this kind of conduct from Martinez and intends to keep focusing on their son’s interests.

Berry’s 18-year-old daughter, Nahla, submitted her own declaration to Los Angeles Superior Court on Oct. 3 describing her mother as warm, devoted, and strict when necessary. She stated she has never witnessed any abusive behavior toward her brother.

Representatives for both parties did not immediately respond to the outlet’s requests for comment. The hearings remain pending.