Katie Holmes, Tom Cruise Trying to Avoid Court, Settlement Talks 'Ongoing'

July 8, 2012— -- Private is the word repeatedly used to describe the way Tom Cruise likes to handle personal matters and this weekend the bombshell divorce between Cruise and Katie Holmes became very, very quiet.

Sources close to case tell ABC News that both Cruise and his soon to be ex-wife, Katie Holmes "want to settle this matter privately and that talks are ongoing between the two parties."

Katie Holmes was snapped going to visit her attorney in New York on Saturday but didn't say a word to photographers waiting for a nugget of news.

While the first hearing in the case is set on the New York Civil Supreme Court calendar for July 17, that is a full week away. Both parties have stated they want what's best for their 6-year-old daughter Suri and sources close to the case told ABC News "they have never ruled out trying to reach an amicable settlement." They are now trying to do just that.

PHOTOS: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Through the Years

Robert Stephan Cohen, who has represented celebrities Christie Brinkley, James Gandolfini and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in their divorce cases, told ABC News that if "this case goes through the court system in New York or California it would be very complicated."

Cohen, who also serves as an adjunct professor at the University of Pennsylvania, said that what happens to the child going forward would be the big issue in any kind of settlement talks.

"The parties can decide what school she can go to and who her pediatrician is but what about Scientology?" he said. "Is he willing to forgo having his daughter raised as a Scientologist? Is she willing to allow the child to be one? If they can work those issues out they may be able to work out a deal."

Holmes filed for divorce and sole custody of the couple's daughter on June 28.

As pictures poured in of Holmes and her daughter out and about in Manhattan enjoying ice-cream, the museum, popping into Whole Foods and visiting her attorney this weekend, Cruise has yet to be seen. Sources close to the actor admitted that Cruise was "stunned" by Holmes' action, which his publicist said left him "deeply saddened."

He returned to Los Angeles from filming in Iceland last Tuesday to celebrate what was described as a "somber" 50th birthday celebration with his family.

Sources close to the actor said they were fine with letting Holmes play the "media game" last week because that is exactly what Cruise wanted. But make no mistake, Cruise has not really been quiet. He has been strategizing with his team of lawyers and calling the shots on what to do about what his associates say "came out of nowhere."

Some legal analysts have said that Holmes' decision to file for divorce in New York might have given her an advantage in her effort to gain sole custody versus joint custody and provide more privacy, since New York seals divorce filings that are often available in California.

California divorce attorney Michael Kelly told The Associated Press that Holmes' East Coast filing was "a tactical move" that signifies "there will be an attempt to gain an advantage."

New York's comparative-fault divorce laws could be advantageous for Holmes, he said. The couple spent most of their marriage in Los Angeles but Holmes has been in New York for most of this year.

Holmes dumped her longtime security team because of their loyalty to Cruise, according to sources, and there had been lots of talk about what is really no longer the elephant in the room, Scientology.