When two parents decide to no longer live together and the court is petitioned to decide which parent gets primary child custody, more often than not it will go to the mother. In cases where the separation is less than amicable, there are times that the father is legally all but left out of a child’s life. Pennsylvania fathers dealing with problems as they fight for child custody may be interested in a movement by fathers in another state.
Fathers who truly want a more active role in the lives of their children are trying to have custody laws in that state reformed. They feel they are being targeted by the court so that their only responsibility as a parent is to pay child support and to spend limited time in weekend and holiday visitations. These fathers are fighting for the same amount of time with their children as the mothers get.
An attorney whose family law practice is located in that state states he has seen the trend toward an automatic custody award going to the mother wane in the past several years. He said the court is now looking at what is best for the children and not what is best for the parents. However, when a father spends as much time as he can with his children soon after a parental separation and he can show some stability in employment and housing, a judge is more apt to increase custody obligations for the father.
While there are some fathers who want nothing to do with the children they have helped bring into the world, there are others whose children mean the world to them. Even though it sometimes seems like an uphill battle, there are avenues for a father to take when seeking child custody. For answers to any questions and for advice, as a Pennsylvania father proceeds with his petition to the court, he may want to speak to an attorney who has knowledge of the intricacies of family law.
Source: wlos.com, “NC-Fathers Press for Equal Custody of Children“, Hope Hanselman, Jan. 19, 2016
