Divorcing
Minnesota parents may be worried about what their decision to end their
marriage means for the kids. It is also likely that, although both parents are
probably concerned, the types of concerns vary between the mother and the
father.
Courts
have historically made decisions about parenting time using
the best interests of the child standard. Numerous fathers think this means
that the courts will automatically favor the child's mother when it comes to
child custody. However, recent trends seem to be showing that this is not
actually the case.
This
past summer a research study released statistics stating that 8% of
households with minor children are run by a single father. This is up from 1% of households in 1960. Although the number of households headed by a
single father have increased nine-fold in this time, the number of households
headed by a single mother have only increased four-fold in the same time period.
What
do these statistics mean? They appear to point to two things. The first is that
the rate of divorce has certainly increased since the 1960s. Second, there is a
growing acceptance of fathers being the primary caregiver for their children.
According
to another study, this trend has begun as more and more states, including
Minnesota, have started making a move toward joint child custody rather than
establishing sole custody with one parent. Although courts believed this would
increase the occurrence of parents sharing the responsibility of taking care of
their children, it has instead impacted the father's relationship with children
and made fathers feel more empowered to ask for, and even fight for, custody of
their children.
When
a couple divorces fathers should certainly feel that they have the right to
fight for time spent with their children if that is what they want. The best
way to do this is to find an experienced family law attorney who can advocate
for the father's rights and help them obtain the time that they so desire and
deserve to spend with their children after divorce.
Source: The
Atlantic, "The rise of the single dad,"
Caroline Kitchener, Feb. 24, 2014
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