Linda Reutzel: Missouri shown the way to improve family courts | Guest columnists. Kentucky’s monumental passage of a shared-parenting bill last year has been deemed the most popular vote in the state. According to an Aug. 30 opinion piece in the Louisville Courier-Journal, the Administrative Office of the Courts has issued a report that shows a reduction in domestic court cases by 11% and a reduction of 445 cases of domestic violence since the full law took effect. Missouri, the Show-Me state, has clearly been shown. Two key and influential Missouri state lawmakers, Sen. Wayne Wallingford and Rep. Kathy Swan, are continuing to rise to the challenge in making effective change on this issue here at home.
More and more Missouri elected officials are turning their attention to the critical and frequently intertwined issues of social justice and criminal justice, and this provides every opportunity for legislation that these lawmakers will file again in the 2020 session to be a top priority in the Missouri Legislature. Some progress has been made. Kentucky's joint-custody law leads to decline in family court cases. Last year, Kentucky passed the nation’s first complete “shared parenting law,” which was called the state’s most popular law of the year. The law created a starting point that both parents have equal child custody time if the parents are fit caregivers. The Bluegrass State’s citizens voiced their support by a whopping factor of 6 to 1. Now, the Administrative Office of the Courts has issued a report that the law is as effective as it is popular.
Quite simply, the new law’s results are spectacular. The state’s population continued to grow, and there were no other changes to family court law. Opinion: Scholarship tax credits would create opportunity for Kentucky students The year before Kentucky had any shared parenting laws, beginning July 14, 2016, and lasting 365 days, there were 22,512 family court cases filed. The highest conflict cases, those with domestic violence claims, showed a similar decline. Opinion: How Kentucky workers are really fairing this Labor Day Opinion: St. Divorced Dads & Daughters: Why does their relationship take such a hard hit. Custody fights blight four in 10 break-ups as 50,000 couples battle in court rooms every year
Custody fights blight nearly four in 10 break-ups as 50,000 former couples battle in court rooms every year 50,000 in failed relationships battle so furiously for custody they need lawyersThe figure points to a large pool of hidden misery among broken familiesAccepted figure of 10 percent of those separating going to court an 'urban myth'True figure is closer to 40 percent of couples who break-up needing a judge By Steve Doughty For Daily Mail Published: 19:48 EDT, 2 May 2019 | Updated: 19:52 EDT, 2 May 2019 Nearly four out of every 10 family break-ups finish with a courtroom battle over the children, newly-released figures show. They mean that 50,000 couples whose marriages or relationships end each year fight so seriously over who will look after their children that they need lawyers and a judge to rule on their future. The number of legal disputes over the children of separated couples is four times higher than estimates long accepted by lawyers, social workers and politicians.
Divorce and the 'Silver Bullet' Divorce is almost always an ugly and painful experience. But for parents with children, there are additional heart-rending realities to confront. No loving parent wants to be absent for their kids’ many firsts and bests—the first tooth falling out, the first goal scored, and so on. Countless goodnight kisses will be missed, and at crisis moments when they need you most (and for the many moments when they don’t need anything more than knowing you’re close by), one parent will not be there to provide advice, compassion, and comfort. Also hanging in the balance are hundreds of thousands of dollars of shelter and vehicles and toys and books and worthless junk priceless only to you. These stakes drive people to lie. Two years ago, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard’s marriage dissolved amid allegations by Heard of abusive behaviour by Depp. The magic frosting on the silver bullet is that it succeeds even when it fails. Inconvenient Gender Symmetry There is also growing gender symmetry in finances.
KAY: Shared parenting after separation - Canadians want it, but Bill C-78 stubbornly clings to outdated winner-takes-all model - The Post Millennial. Bill C-78, An Act to amend the Divorce Act had its first reading on May 22. It is now in Committee with witness presentations underway. Everyone agrees that government reforms on divorce law were necessary, as Canada’s Divorce Act has not been re-evaluated since it was passed in 1985. Given the rapid pace of socio-cultural change in the interim, it seems more like a century ago than a mere 33 years. Many of C-78’s proposals are to be commended: replacement of the polarizing “custody and access” terminology with “decision-making responsibility” and “parenting time;” encouragement of non-adversarial dispute resolution processes like mediation; explicit recognition of family violence considerations; explicit provision for the voice of the child to be heard; facilitation of contact for grandparents and family members; provincial child support recalculation services; more efficient inter-jurisdictional procedures; and incorporation of international law commitments into domestic law.
So what? Expert tips on avoiding nasty divorce-child custody battles. For parents who are trying to juggle shared custody, child support payments and their careers — finding the right life-balance can seem impossible. Sometimes disagreements escalate into messy legal battles that require judges, attorneys and therapists to step in and help.
In her CNN Original Series, "This is Life," Lisa Ling spoke with fathers who feel the system has let them down. One is a divorced father who has spent time in jail because he said he couldn't pay his court-ordered child support. "I'm currently at $680,000 worth of arrears, at 9% interest," said Dr. Carlos Rivera. In another case, a father named Jake was banned from seeing his children by something called a civil protection order. In court documents, Jake's wife said he went through dangerous mood swings, blocked her internet access and tried to obstruct her from driving away with the kids. A third situation doesn't involve marriage or divorce.
What if dads can't pay child support? Attorney Randy Kessler Pay something Step up. ROBERT-FRANKLIN-We-the-people-want-shared-13169225. How Kentucky's New Joint Custody Law Could Affect The Future Of Divorce | WVXU. Kentucky is now the first state in the country to make joint custody the "legal presumption" in divorce proceedings. The new law, signed by Governor Matt Bevin in April, goes into effect in July and requires judges to grant equal custody in all cases, unless one parent has filed a domestic violence protective order against the other within the last three years. While Kentucky is the only state to pass the legal presumption language into law, more than 25 states have considered similar legislation.
Joining "Cincinnati Edition" to discuss the new law and how it could impact divorce proceedings are attorney Erin Wilkins with the Law Office of M. Erin Wilkins; Graydon Law attorney Mark Ogle; and Children's Law Center Staff attorney Howard Tankersley. Tune into "Cincinnati Edition" June 12 starting at 1 p.m. to hear this segment. Why We Must Be Bold on Welfare Reform. The Financial Incentives of Fatherlessness. Dailycaller. Marriage is in decline. In roughly 35 years, or about two generations depending on the age of marriage, the percentage of married men aged 20-39 has halved. This is not a conundrum only for the curious. The decline of marriage has far reaching negative consequences for men, women, and most especially children. Yet, the data testifies that men do not want to get married. There was another dramatic change in the 1970’s, which might explain men’s crashing marriage rates. Men see other men enduring divorce, losing their children, and sometimes their livelihoods in pursuit of their children, soon after they lose their spouse.
From my own experiences, I believe it’s widespread for women to use children as a weapon to exact revenge against the ex during, and after, divorce proceedings. During my lengthy divorce, my ex-wife claimed I was abusive, that she was ‘afraid for her safety,’ and tried to get ‘supervised visitation.’ To fix marriage, we must first fix divorce. What Elephants Can teach us About Gun Violence and “Toxic Masculinity” - The Post Millennial. Mass murderers are almost invariably male and white. On this account, the media feel free to make sweeping generalizations they would never make if mass murderers were usually female and black. For example, consider these headlines following the horrific Parkland, Florida school massacre: “Toxic white masculinity: The Killer that Haunts American Life” – Salon; “Toxic white masculinity” – The Boston Globe; “Don’t Blame Mental Illness for Mass Shootings; Blame Men” – Politico. It is wrong to cast so wide a net as “masculinity” over a phenomenon that affects a very small number of young men.
After all, masculinity also accounts for the impulse of many men to shield women and children from danger, sacrificing their lives in the process, as football coach Aaron Feis did at Parkland. We should rather be seeking patterns of mental health or social/cultural formation that can guide us in predicting and preventing apparently random acts of violence. The mystery was solved. 'Part-time parenting' can benefit kids while liberating mums and dads. Updated Lucy Good loves being a co-parent. Key points: Co-parenting is when two or more adults work together to raise childrenIt occurs most commonly when a relationship breaks downShared custody allows parents to give full attention to the children, a psychologist says When her relationship with her husband broke down five years ago, they agreed splitting the time with their two daughters 50/50 was the best option.
Not only does she treasure having both her own space and one-on-one time with the kids, she believes the girls have better relationships with her and their dad because of it. "When in a partnered relationship you may have a break here and there, but it's limited to a few hours," the Noosa mum of two said. "With co-parenting, having that 'me time' is extremely valuable, not only to recharge and just take a break, but it enables you to work on yourself — whether that is health, career or just concentrating on the future.
" "It's something your kids watch you do and learn from. " Sons Save Marriages, According To Study. Child learning to swim. Photo: David Trood (Getty). Having children is a big decision to make. You need to be ready for it emotionally, physically and economically. If you are, it can be a great blessing, and apparently this is especially true if you have a son. Before somebody who is/has a daughter attacks us for saying that, let’s pull back and clarify. Having a daughter is just as wonderful, but this article is referring to one statistical study in that says that couples who have sons are less likely to get divorced down the road. Sons Save Marriages, According To Study Why is this? Father and son working on house. Family psychotherapist Sean Grover has an explanation for this, as well. Essentially, the reasoning comes down to men being “much more gendered in their behavior, and in their expectations of the behavior of their kids, than women are,” according to University of Cambridge psychology professor Michael Lamb.
Via The Economist. The social costs of fatherlessness. The causal relationship is profound between fatherlessness, single-parent families and the resultant murders, shootings, violence, poverty, lack of upper-mobility, school miseries for teachers and students, flourishing of vicious and brazen gangs (replacing fathers), lost job opportunities, illicit drug use and sales, and general quality of life. The statistics connecting all of these more or less measurable outcomes are well-established, reproduced and replicated. Just look at one summary statement from just one major study (Marriage and Family Review, 2003) titled “The Presence of Fathers in Attenuating Young Male Violence”: “Data analyzed across the U.S. indicate that father absence, rather than poverty, was a strong predictor of young men’s violent behavior.”
This author wrote a piece on the issue in the Baltimore Sun (“Blame Baltimore violence on a lack of fathers in the home,” July 25). Please. The issue is the proverbial elephant in the state. . • Richard E. How a change in parenting can improve education at no cost to taxpayers. As our children head back to school again, it is useful to ask why so many are doing so poorly. It seems we've tried everything to improve standardized test scores among disadvantaged students, with little success. But perhaps the answer partially lies in the home, not in the school. It turns out that children raised by single parents account for 71 percent of high school dropouts, according to federal statistics, and that children who have shared parenting after their parents separate due to divorce do considerably better. Shared parenting is a flexible arrangement in which children spend as close to equal time as possible with each parent after separation or divorce – if both parents are fit and there has been no domestic violence.
This stands in sharp contrast to the outdated traditions of most family courts, which assign sole physical custody to one parent, usually the mother, and just a small amount of "visitation" to the other parent. Consider the wealth of data that shows as much. Notkin: Women Marrying Later, Men at Fault. A Few Answers and Many Questions About Race and Non-Marital Childbearing. September 14, 2017 by Robert Franklin, Esq, Member, National Board of Directors, National Parents Organization This excellent article adds to our information about racial disparities in marriage and cohabitation rates.
It appears that the black community may be stuck in a holding pattern in which children are born to single mothers, have little contact with their biological fathers and suffer the panoply of deficits associated with fatherlessness. Girls are then more likely to become pregnant as teenagers and boys more likely to be poorly educated and un/underemployed rendering them poor candidates for marriage. Unmarriageable males mean more children born to unmarried mothers. And the cycle continues. That seems to be the case, and how it gets changed, I don’t know. It reports on a new study.
The authors found that about 17% of black women with nonmarital births married their child’s father within nine years, versus 37% for both white and Hispanic women. Biochemistry, Father Absence and Shared Parenting. At the cellular level, a child’s loss of a father is associated with increased stress | Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. The absence of a father — due to incarceration, death, separation or divorce — has adverse physical and behavioral consequences for a growing child. But little is known about the biological processes that underlie this link between father loss and child well-being.
In a study (link is external) published July 18 in the journal Pediatrics, a team of FFCWS researchers report that the loss of a father has a significant adverse effect on telomeres, the protective nucleoprotein end caps of chromosomes. At 9 years of age, children who had lost their father had significantly shorter telomeres — 14 percent shorter on average — than children who had not. Death had the largest association, and the effects were greater for boys than girls. Telomeres are thought to reflect cell aging and overall health — their role is to help maintain the DNA ends of chromosomes following cell division. Click here to read the Pediatrics paper. The Biological Effects of Father Loss: An Interview with Daniel Notterman | Institute for Family Studies.
Men Are Good. Why Some Children Confess to Abuse that Never Happened. 4 Reasons Why Divorce Is Harder For Guys | Dads Divorce. 4 Single Father Myths Debunked - Brad Wilcox, Read Your Own Organization’s Website. Does Cohabitation Explain the Decline in the Divorce Rate? Study: Low Male: Female Ratios Mean Greater Societal Dysfunction. The Fatherless Effect. The Decline of Marriage and the Rise of Unwed Mothers: An Economic Mystery - Derek Thompson. Women are more likely to initiate divorce. Child Poverty and Family Structure FULL REPORT 1. Family First Report: Single Parenthood Keeps Families in Poverty.
Article. Why men won't marry you. Shared parenting popular, but still faces roadblocks. Why states with more marriages are richer states. Father Not Obligated to Pay Child Support, Panel Finds _ New York Law Journal.pdf. U.S. marriage rate, at century low, is headed down | Milford PA | Local News. Why men won't marry you. This Divorce Arrangement Stresses Kids Out Most | TIME. How inequality changes marriage – June Carbone and Naomi Cahn. Why Shared-Parenting Legislation Makes Sense. Social inequality’s deepening roots. Family Structure is Main Source of Inequality. Nicholas Kristof: When the liberals blew it | Other Opinions. Opposing Shared Parenting: The Feminist Track Record.
Two Married Biological Parents Protect Kids from Violence Best.