Fathers are generally treated pretty well in court on custody issues.
Lee S. Rosen
Board Certified Family Law Specialist
The Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607 RosenDivorce.com
(919)787-6668
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
I think it depends on where you are. In my case, my exwife was caught in several lies (claimed I tried to kill her, our daughter, etc.), and a court-ordered evaluator stated that the ex had “very difficult personality traits” (he said off the record that he thought she had narcissistic personality disorder, but it wasn’t his job to make a diagnosis). The judge agreed that my wife had done many “immoral” things and that she had some “difficult personality traits.” The lies that the ex told about me were deemed “not credible” after I took a polygraph and went through all sorts of psychological testing.
Still, the judge awarded the ex primary custody of our daughter. Her reasoning was that because I work a fulltime job and the ex does not, I can’t devote as much time to a child as she can. The “tender years doctrine” still reigns in Davidson County.
It is generally our experience that courts look towards the best interests of the children to insure that both parents have access to the children as opposed to whether a parent is the mother or father.
Lisa M. Angel
Board Certified Family Law Specialist
The Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 200
Raleigh, NC 27607
(919) 781-1741 direct voice
(919) 256-1660 direct fax
(919) 787-6668 main voice
(919) 787-6361 main fax NCdivorce.com
email: angel@rosen.com
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
The term “best interest of the children” can be twisted into whatever a judge wants it to mean.
In my case, the judge deemed that it was in the child’s best interest to live primarily with a mother who is self-absorbed and who is still telling people that I tried to kill both her and our daughter (despite the evidence to the contrary). I fail to see how that is in my daughter’s “best interest.”
Ironically, my attorney told me that the judge that we had was the most father-friendly one in the 22nd district.
During a DSS investigation, the social worker told me that “the father is always assumed guilty until he proves himself innocent.” He said that even when charges against the father are disproven, many judges will still award primary custody to the mother “just to be safe.”
Greetings. While it sounds like you have been burned, I will tell you that we have a lot of success with fathers obtaining significant custodial rights. Thank you.
Janet L. Fritts
Attorney with Rosen Divorce
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, North Carolina 27607
919.787.6668 main phone
919.256.1665 direct fax
10925 David Taylor Drive, Suite 100
Charlotte, North Carolina 28262
704.644.2831 main voice
704.307.4595 main fax
The response posted above is based upon the limited factual information made available and is not intended as a full and complete response to the question. The only reliable manner to obtain complete and adequate legal advice is to consult with an attorney, fully explain your situation, and allow the attorney sufficient opportunity to research the applicable law and facts required to render an accurate opinion. The basic information provided above is intended as a public service but a full discussion with an attorney should be undertaken before taking any action.
Hi,are judges allowing more time to fathers with there children if the party is fit and responsible and makes a considered effort to have there child more through the legal process? I’ve heard different opinions on the matter-one was that the mother still had the majority rule in court proceedings.Also the other was that judges now want children to have as much time as possible with each parent.How do you see this issue going now with your experiances in court proceedings? Everyone has told one thing after the other I thought i would get a professional opinion. thank you your website is a great forum for information also thank you for you time.