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730 Custody Evaluations
Child custody evaluations have become extremely common in the family courts, in order to help the court develop a parenting plan that is in the best interest of the children when parents have been or are unable to do so. However, there is much skepticism and growing concerns with the validity and quality of these types of evaluations and how they are conducted and the qualifications of those who are conducting them ("evaluators").
Move-Away Cases
Noncustodial parents face a difficult dilemma when the custodial parent wants to move to a relatively distant location. Recent California cases indicate that in custody situations, if one parent is functionally the primary parent and the children have been living primarily with that parent, that parent is likely to be permitted by the courts to move and take the children along, even if he or she agreed earlier not to relocate.
Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS)
In 1985, Dr. Richard A. Gardner coined the term Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS). A term that he used to describe a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes, and it's primary manifestation is the child's campaign of denigration against a parent, and is a campaign that has no justification.
Child Protective Services (CPS)
In contested divorce cases today, some experts estimate that between 75 and 80 percent of allegations of child abuse are false (unfounded). Although, the Mondale Act's emphasis on bringing even suspicions of abuse into the open has saved thousands of children from harm by using government funds to set up child abuse prevention programs such as Child Protective Services (CPS) and the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), there have been some rather disturbing and compelling side-effects.
False Allegations of Abuse
False Allegations of child abuse have become an international epidemic in the family courts, including false allegations of domestic violence. False allegations are commonly used by self-serving parents in contested child custody cases as an attempt to rest sole custody of their children in the family courts. Whether a false allegation is made maliciously, or out of genuine concern for the welfare of a child by the accusor, the result is generally the same for the accused.
Attorney's Hidden Agenda
With thousands of licensed practicing attorneys and countless yellow pages ads for their services, it is important to choose the right attorney who can make a difference in your family law case and consequently an important difference in your relationship with your child. Additionally, it is important to know how attorney's bill, how they can bill, how they operate, and how to use them in order to minimize your risk of falling prey to an attorneys hidden agenda.
Collaborative Law
Today, there is a growing effort to promote and encourage "Collaborative Law", one of the latest buzzwords in the family court arena. This is a newer litigation alternative approach to resolve disputes in the family court system that encourages settlement and discourages litigation. However, Collabortive Law will not work for everyone and their are certain characteristics of your case and the parties involved that one must explore to better determine if this is an option for you.
Best Interest of the Child
What is "In the Best Interest of the Child" is the endorsement and encouragement of shared or cooperative parenting (or in legal terms, "joint-custody"), in order that a child maintain an equal and loving relationship with both parents, and where a child is guaranteed frequent, consistent, and continuous contact with both parents, and the inalienable rights of each parent are preserved, as granted to each, and outlined by the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution.
Shared Parenting
Shared parenting or joint physical custody is the common term used to describe a family arrangement after separation or divorce, in which the care of the children is substantially shared between the biological father and mother, leading to a situation where the child knows that both his or her parents are involved in their upbringing. Research and studies that are over a quarter century old show the significant benefits for children of shared parenting arrangements. However, shared parenting is still uncommon in situations where attorneys and the family courts become involved, due to the adversarial nature of the courts.
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