Tom Cruise's Lawyer: Suri Was Main Concern of Divorce Settlement

By Elizabeth Leonard and Alison Schwartz

07/14/2012 at 08:30 AM EDT

From buzz that Katie Holmes was being followed by the Church to speculation over the influence Tom Cruise's controversial religion had during the settlement negotiations, the role of Scientology in the couple's split has been followed just as closely as the beginnings of their separate new lives.

But according to Cruise lawyer Bert Fields, who flew to New York to negotiate their divorce settlement (which granted Holmes, 33, primary custody and Cruise, 50, generous visitation rights), the main concern was 6-year-old daughter Suri.

"Tom was always most interested in his child," Fields tells PEOPLE. "His concern was for Suri."

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Adds the high-powered attorney: "He will have a meaningful relationship with Suri."

As for when Cruise will see his daughter, who has been clocking in time with her mom in New York – from trips to the zoo to the art museum – Fields could not reveal a specific time or date. (Cruise is currently filming Oblivion.)

"I don't know the details of his schedule, so I can't comment," he says. "My guess is he'll be seeing Suri very soon."

Regarding the role the actor's religion played in the settlement, Fields tells PEOPLE, "Somebody said the Scientologists were directing the negotiations, and that is absolute hogwash. There was no Scientologist present, I wasn't on the phone with Scientologists. Scientologists played no part of role in the negotiations between the lawyers."

Instead, he says, both teams "dealt rationally with the issues, hashed them all out and over a few days worked something out that was to the satisfaction of both sides."

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