We hear a lot about how the courts are
biased in favor of mothers when handing down child custody decisions. A few
studies indicate that there might be more to the story as other factors come
into play to explain why fathers are less involved in their children’s lives
post-divorce.
The following statistics come from a Pew
Research Center analysis of the National Survey of Family Growth
(NSFG). According to the report, a married father spends on average 6.5 hours a
week taking part in primary child care activities with his children. This
compares to an average of 12.9 hours for married moms. The study points out
that two-income households are now the norm and that the data reveals more
mothers are busy working and caring for the children. This gap and the
increased time spent caring for children may be one reason why women are more
likely to retain primary custody after a divorce.
Even more surprising are the statistics
regarding fathers time with children post-divorce. The data discussed in the Huffington Post shows that when fathers
and children live separately, only 22% see their children more than once a
week. An additional 29% see their kids one to four times a month. Sadly, a full
27% of dads have no contact with their children at all. These numbers further
reflect a possible reason for the gap in custody awards during a divorce.
Many might argue that family courts send
the message that fathers are not essential to raising children and that it’s
because of these judicially created parenting plans that they are unable to spend
quality time with their children. This is not the whole truth as information
from DivorcePeers.com indicates that in 51% of cases both parents agreed that
the mother would become the custodial parent. In another 29% of custody cases,
the decision was made without any third party involvement. Eleven percent of
custody cases had a resolution for custody made during mediation and five
percent were resolved after a custody evaluation. This means that only 4% of all
custody cases went to trial and of that 4 percent, only 1.5% went through
custody litigation.
This means that a full 91% of custody
cases are decided without the interference of supposedly biased judges. The
claims of bias should be discarded and instead replaced with engaged fathers
willing to fight for more time with their children during the divorce process.
If you find yourself facing the prospect
of divorce, contact an experienced Ohio family law attorney who can help guide you through the
difficult process. Count on the expertise of Twinsburg family law attorney Carol
L. Gasper.
Source:
“Dispelling
The Myth Of Gender Bias In The Family Court System,”
by Cathy Meyer, published at HuffingtonPost.com.
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