It happens. Too often, actually. Parents both married and not can lose their parental rights to the whims of a family law court, even when trying to do what is best for their children. It makes no sense.
In his recent New York Times piece, Robert Emery, calls the American legal system out for its inability to allow for flexible, common sense solutions parents develop themselves. Consider one example he poses:
A logical solution is for parents to make a plan that will grow and change along with their child. A baby might stay mostly with one parent, and time with the other parent could increase during the toddler and preschool years. Perhaps the parents would share 50-50 custody when their baby is of school age.
Sadly, this common-sense approach is undermined by laws that do not honor such agreements, and push parents to fight instead. Lawyers wisely tell breast-feeding mothers to fight for full custody. Judges are likely to be sympathetic to a nursing mother. Yet lawyers also wisely tell the fathers of babies to fight for their custody share. The father’s case will be weakened if he waits until his baby is older, because he will have a record of relative uninvolvement.
You can read the entire article here and form your own opinion…
