In 2003, Fathers and Families publicized a story of a San Diego-based US Navy Seal who was quickly deployed after the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center.  While overseas fighting for his country, the military father had his minor child relocated from California to the Middle East by the mother against his will and without his consent.  He opened up to Glenn Sacks and painfully admitted, “Sometimes I wonder what I risked my life [in Afghanistan] for. I went to fight for freedom but what freedom and what rights mean anything if a man doesn’t have the right to be a father to his own child?”  To read the full story of this brave military father, click here.

Like this Navy Seal, many military servicemembers are not able to have a voice in the courtroom as they fight thousands of miles away for their country.  In the past, the primary residential parent of the parties’ child could relocate to another state or country and change the child’s residency without the consent of the other parent.  They could enter a courtroom and file for divorce immediately after the deployment of the soldier; making him not part of the decision process and dictating a visitation schedule upon his return.  Father/child bonds were lost due to extreme absence and lack of contact; letters to children never delivered and phone calls from overseas never answered.  In an effort to make the family law system more balanced for both parties, supporters and advocates of equal rights have joined their voices together and we now have begun to see the fruits of their labor.

According to Florida’s recent legislation concerning temporary and concurrent custody of a child, effective July 1, 2010, military fathers can rest easier knowing that the bill states:

• Parents assigned to military service on orders may designate a person to exercise time-sharing on that parent’s behalf.
• Parents assigned to military service may petition for expedited hearings.
• Requires non-military parent to cooperate to resolve issues and share information regarding the child.
• Protects military parents that object to custody modifications and allows them to state their objection formally, prior to any final order being awarded.
• States that any order granting concurrent custody does not affect ability of the other parent to obtain physical custody of child at any time.

To read the general bill and/or receive additional information, please visit MyFloridaHouse.gov.

To see the original article posted by Fathers and Families, please click here.

Military separations and divorces must be handled by competent attorneys that are equipped to handle the complex, time-sensitive and unique issues that arise in servicemen’s domestic dissolutions. As such, it is vital that you select a law firm with military-related family law experience to represent your best interest.  

The Men’s Divorce Law Firm proudly represents Husbands and Fathers that are both active-duty and retired military. 

Fathers, Families, Fairness.

To buy the book from Amazon, click here.

In a strange twist of events, the biological mother (Mike’s now ex-wife) remarried to his daughter’s biological father. Although his daughter was now living with both biological parents, he was still being forced to pay child support. Why would he still be willing to do so? As quoted in the article, “Just because our relationship started because of someone else’s lie,” he said later, “doesn’t mean the bond that developed isn’t real.”

Despite the situation, Mike still loves his daughter more than anything and proves a great example of a father who would do anything for their child.

Click here to read the full article from the New York Times

Baskerville quotes about the book, “Taken Into Custody is the most comprehensive exposé yet published by a major publishing house on the depredations of the divorce industry.  I say this conscious that I am standing on the shoulders of others.  This book was made possible by the pioneering efforts of authors who have preceded me (all of whose work it draws upon): Jed Abraham, Sanford Braver, Warren Farrell, Jeffery Leving, David Levy, Melanie Phillips, Dean Tong, Cathy Young, plus Richard Doyle, Bai Macfarlane, Judy Parejko, Robert Seidenberg, and others (including, most recently, Phyllis Schlafly in the revised paperback edition of her latest book).  Yet because they were breaking ground, most of these writers were either pressured to tone down their language or forced to self-publish.  This is the first book from a major publisher that has been permitted to speak the unvarnished truth about the divorce machinery: its destruction of families, its violations of the Constitution, its disregard for due process of law, its voracious appetite for children, parents, and families.  This is no tirade however but a thoroughly documented study of a previously neglected abuse by a credentialed political scientist.  The result is a major breakthrough in exposing the greatest civil rights abuse of our time and the most repressive government machine ever created in the United States.”

Click here to order the book from Amazon.com.

From a book made mostly of pictures to an hour and a half movie, a lot more story had to be added in order for the film to fill in the extra time. The movie is about a boy, Max, who is dealing with his parents’ divorce by rebelling and acting out. Although the detail and animation is superb, the storyline seems to send the wrong message in that it suggests the children are the ones responsible for moving past their parents’ divorce.

Children going through a divorce can be on a steep emotional edge. It is important for both parents to stay involved to reassure the kids that they are still loved equally and that the divorce is not their fault.

For more information on “Where the Wild Things Are,” click here.

Mark Heller, an attorney for Jon, said his client had repaid the money the octodad had removed from a joint bank account he shared with his soon-to-be ex but Kate had yet to return the $33,000 she had taken from the bank.

“Jon Gosselin has met all of the obligations he was required to make,” Heller said outside a Pennsylvania courthouse today. “The obligations that Kate Gosselin has were not fulfilled. Maybe that explains why she didn’t appear in court today.”

To read the full article click here.

Article by | www.nbcchicago.com

The Child Welfare Information Gateway has posted many interesting studies referencing the affect of fathers on children. They inform the public of the reaction children have to various situations between the mother and father, as well as the reaction to growing up without a father.

To read more about the psychological affects on children for issues such as these, click on the following link:

Click here to read more information about the importance of a fathers presence in children’s lives…