Dads are on the move these days to challenge traditional assumptions that a child is best raised by his mother.
When one actor and his girlfriend conceived a child through in vitro fertilization, a judge denied the dad had paternal rights. The celebrity has campaigned determinedly to have a role in his child’s life.
While more and more devoted fathers dispute the notion that a mother has more rights to parent a child, one neighboring state to Arizona witnessed a group of fathers sue over the right of a mother to give up her baby for adoption.
There is a growing trend of fathers who want to assert their right to parent. Advocacy groups for men have gone public with their pleas to be heard. Their quarrel is with a legal system that automatically assumes a mother will be a better parent. At the very least, fathers feel they should be considered as joint custodians, rather than dismissed as a parental choice.
As the gender revolution charges onward, traditional male and female roles are continuously questioned. While the issue of an unmarried couple remains novel, the courts are starting to show fairness to males who want the privilege to be a father. In today’s world, it is more common to see couples sharing domestic duties at home, a trend some call “gender neutral.”
As more women storm the workplace, divorce court experts claim the courts are less likely to automatically award custody to the mother. Contemporary court rulings focus on couples who can get along in the best interests of the children.
If you are embroiled in a child custody suit in the state of Arizona, you have rights regarding parenting. It is advisable for you to investigate these rights by conferring with a legal advisor who can help plead your case in your desire to be a parental presence in the life of your child.
Source: Tampa Bay Times, “Divorce and custody: Dads getting a better deal” Hanna Rosin, Slate, May. 18, 2014