BLUEPRINTS for family law reform

Fathers-4-Justice®

BLUEPRINT FOR FAMILY LAW REFORM

Our Mission: That there may be Truth, Justice and total Equality in Family Law in every family court in the United States and that every court judge, legislator and public servant be fully accountable to the people for which they have been elected, appointed or hired to serve.

General Children's Rights Issues

Fathers-4-Justice® hereby demands that:

1. The Governor of EVERY state issue a proclamation declaring that both parents are equally important in the raising and care of their children.

2. The Federal government commission a study of the family courts systems in the United States to evaluate their impact on parents and children after divorce or separation and particularly the negative impact of courts have regarding the relationships of fathers and their children and the resulting impact on our children.

3. Each state fund a commission to enable the production of Public Service Announcements and brochures designed to promote education and policies which would bring both parents and their children closer together.

Family Law

Fathers-4-Justice® demands that:

1. It should be each state’s public policy that it is in the public interest as well as the best interest of children and families to encourage parents to share the rights and responsibility of child rearing. To this end Fathers-4-Justice® demands that each state enact legislation stating that a rebuttable presumption of 50/50 joint physical and legal custody be the starting point custody disputes for fit parents where this is desired by at least one parent AND that such an arrangement should be supported and encouraged. Parenting time should be "maximized". The parties should anticipate, that those administering or supervising domestic cases (i.e., family court) will make every effort to maximize the time parents have with their children to avoid rendering either of the parties a loser in the action, and to maximize the likelihood that children will have both natural parents involved in a meaningful way. Children want, love, and need two parents.

2. It should be each state’s public policy that frequent and continuing contact between minor children and both parents, if the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage, is presumed to be beneficial to the children for all fit parents.

3. All states must modify its policy of enforcing only the monetary support portion of family court decrees to include equally stringent enforcement of parenting time portions of those decrees.

4. “Move away” laws should be enacted and enforced in every state that prohibit a parent from moving the Child(ren) a substantial distance from the other parent without the written agreement of the other parent to assure a meaningful relationship is maintained with the non-moving parent and that a stable living environment may continue for the child(ren).

5. Each state enact gender neutral Domestic Kidnapping laws that make it a crime with severe mandatory penalties for either parent to move and hide the identity and location of a child from the other parent. In addition each state must have reciprocal enforcement agreements with all other states.

6. Every state and the federal government protect our military and civilian men and women from domestic court proceedings taking place while they are away on active duty or required to be temporary relocated and unable to appear or contest such proceedings. This protection should include but not be limited to establishing or changing support orders, custody issues, moving the children and divorce proceedings.

7. Family Bill of Rights

a). Must be established at a federal level

b). A family bill of rights must be provided to each parent when married or when a motion for divorce, custody or child support is filed or served.

8. That every family court and judges be required to publish and have available to the public detailed statistics regarding custody requests made and decisions rendered.

9. That every family and juvenile court be open to the public and media without exception.

Domestic Violence

Fathers-4 Justice® hereby demands that:

1. Judges, prosecutors and other court personnel should attend educational conferences on domestic violence (DV) structured to avoid the present gender bias that ignores or discounts domestic violence by women against both men and children.

2. Properly trained Case Evaluators should screen each domestic violence case with the goal of arriving at mutually agreeable solutions in an atmosphere of communication and compromise.

3. Evidentiary standards and procedures should be reviewed and revised by in domestic violence cases and such standards and procedures should be revised whenever gender biasness is found and that this review should be done on a continuous bases by a gender neutral state funded committee.

4. Each state’s application for state and VAWA funding be reviewed by the Attorney General to determine the extent to which the application of such funds have been illegally denied funding and to determine the extent to which the services provided meet the gender neutral requirements of the Violence Against Women Act.

5. False allegations of domestic violence, child abuse and sexual abuse should be made a criminal offence with severe but appropriate mandatory sentencing.

Child Support

Fathers-4 Justice® hereby demands that:

1. States should finance a Commission to conduct a detailed study of the root causes of the child support arrearages and make recommendations of new methods to reduce arrearages without having to resort to incarceration and other methods that would not limit the income or parenting time of the obligor.

2. Child support should be based on the basic costs of supporting a child (food, clothing and housing) and should not include “disguised alimony”.

3. Child support should terminate at age 18 or upon graduation from high school which ever comes last.

4. No parent should be required to fund a child’s college education.

5. Child support must consider the costs associated with supporting the children in BOTH the mother’s and father’s households. Support must follow the child.

Paternity Fraud and Certificates of Birth

1. Paternity fraud should be made a criminal offense with mandatory penalties.

2. Child support paid in fraudulent pretexts’ should be recoverable by the obligor with no statute of limitations.

3. DNA testing at birth should be mandatory for unmarried, married or divorcing couples PRIOR to establishing paternity.

Fathers4Justice Roadmap to EQUALITY