“A good Father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.” Billy Graham
As families transitioned from mainly stay at home moms to two income families, and even families where the Father stays at home with the children, the law has changed and Father’s rights have changed. Initially there was a preference for a Mother to primarily raise children and for Fathers to primary financially support children. Now we see Fathers who equally coparent with Mothers and even Fathers that are the primary caretaker of children. While experts agree that a child benefits equally from Mothers and Fathers we still see a lot of possession orders that favor Mothers.
Divorce changes everything. A parent who may have stayed at home with the children will likely be re-entering the workforce and a parent that may have worked long hours as the sole provider will likely want to reduce hours to spend more time with the child. There are also a lot of parents that have equally split the tasks of raising their child and they should be permitted to continue to do so.
While the law states that a court is not supposed to show a preference for Mother’s over Fathers, Fathers do still have to fight to achieve equal status in most courts. One has to look no further than noticing how Mother’s Day is treated compared to Father’s Day to realize that while Fathers have come a long way under the law we still have further to go before they are truly treated equally. Texas law still presumes that a child should live primarily with one parent and have frequent visitation with the other parent. 50/50schedules are not preferred by the statutes. Courts will keep involved parents involved after a breakup, but if a Father wants the child to live primarily with him or even a 50/50 possession schedule, he needs an experienced Father’s rights attorney to help him show the court why this is truly in the child’s best interest. Robin Zegen, The Dallas Divorce Attorney, helps Fathers fight for custody and a substantial place in their child’s life. Call today for a consultation.
With thirty years of experience Robin Rubrecht Zegen will help you identify and prioritize your goals and she will explain the options available for achieving them. She guides her clients through the transition while helping them maintain their relationships and dignity.
She is a member of the State Bar of Texas Family Law Section; Dallas Bar Association Family Law Section; Collin County Bar Association Family Law Section; Frisco Bar Association, and Plano Bar Association. She is a Master of the Bench in the Curt B. Henderson American Inns of Court.