Changing views has made it easier for fathers in custody cases

As you may or may not know, the heart and soul of the father’s rights movement is to make sure that fathers across the nation are getting the same treatment as mothers are in child custody cases. The reason this movement began is because a number of people started noticing a bias in our legal system against fathers who should have just as much of a right to see their children as mothers do.

Previously, it was assumed that a child would be better off if they were put in the custody of their mother. This perception has changed over the years though thanks to several court cases that have refuted this presumption. Thanks to these cases, and the efforts of people who support the father’s rights movement, courts across the nation, including here in New Jersey, have started to give both parents equal opportunity for custody, leveling the playing field in many respects.

Here in New Jersey, there are two main types of custody: joint custody and sole custody. Joint custody, as the title suggests, gives both parents the opportunity to maintain a relationship with their child by sharing parenting time. The courts may require that the child live with one parent or alternate between both parents’ residences. Either way, both parents still need to work together to make decisions that are in their child’s best interests.

With sole custody, things work a little differently. The child specifically lives with one parent who then makes a majority of the decisions regarding care of the child. The other parent is awarded visitation and is considered the non-custodial parent.

It’s worth pointing out that these are not the only two custody arrangements that family law judges can make in our state. Custody arrangements are based on what is in the child’s best interests, which means every custody situation is going to be different depending on the circumstances of each case.

Regardless of the shift towards shared custody here in New Jersey, fathers may still want to obtain the services of a skilled attorney, such as those found here at The Montanari Law Group. We work with parents and the courts to make sure that everyone’s rights are being protected and that the custody arrangement that does get agreed upon really is in the child’s best interests.

Source: FindLaw, “New Jersey Child Custody Laws,” Accessed May 14, 2015