Father Rights in Child Custody

Thesis Statement

Child Custody for fathers can be an uphill battle when the family court favours maternal custody rights.

Introduction

Child custody for fathers following a divorce is one of the most important aspects of a dissolving marriage. Throughout history the legal presumptions about child custody for fathers has changed significantly. Before the twentieth century children were regarded as the property of their father. Under common law, child custody for fathers was commonly awarded, as children were considered a father's rightful property. A major shift occurred after this period in history, as family courts came to favour mothers in child custody cases. It was presumed that under normal circumstances, children did better when placed in the sole custody of their mothers (Grossberg, pp 183-184).

Background

Until the early twentieth century, common law, usually treat the children as his own father, and so after a divorce, the father would get custody as a matter of course. With the development of psychological science over the twentieth century, most jurisdictions completely transformed this presumption of paternal custody, and not the imposition of so-called "tender years" doctrine, which believes that the absence of exceptional circumstances, young children should always be placed under the care of mothers (Arendell, pp. 562-586).

As it became apparent that both of these models were fundamentally flawed - two sides of the same bad penny - a wide range of alternative models emerged, each of which attempts to discern custodial arrangement that is in the "best interests" of children. Typically, these models include a presumption that a parent who served as a caregiver during the marriage, should be the primary custodian after divorce (Grossberg, pp 183-184). Study Judith Seltzer (University of Wisconsin-Madison) has shown that children were better off in money, when fathers joint legal custody. Pope, who saw their children more frequently were more likely to comply with the schedule of the child maintenance. This is a weighty argument in favour of joint physical custody (Green, p. 45-288).

With regard to family relations, Seltzer also concluded that joint physical custody saves children's lives as close as possible to their pre-divorce situations. And, it is easier for children, both mother and father in their lives, to have good relations with peers. Seltzer study is consistent with the rights of fathers' groups and their assertion that joint custody is good for children (Moloney, pp. 363-396).

Curent Situation

This paradigm of thought shifted again after experts and lawmakers discovered that custody for fathers was worthy of equal credence. The legal system began to understand that, in many cases, children benefited most from having both parents in their lives growing up. Many family courts still hold the belief, however, that the primary caregiver during a marriage should remain the primary caregiver after a divorce(Moloney, pp. 363-396).

Analysis

The rights of fathers has increased and changed for the better over time, but there is still a long way to go before there is real parity between mother and father's rights. Women still tend to win the ...