THE ROLE OF FATHERS IS CHANGING

I have good news and bad news. Here’s the bad news, and it is truly troubling: According to a new Pew Research Center analysis of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), children in the U.S. living apart from their fathers have grown from 11% in 1960 to 27%...

WE’RE THE PATERNITY / CUSTODY EXPERTS

According to a study by the National Center for Health Statistics the number of firstborn children belonging to unmarried, cohabiting women has increased from 12% to 22% between 2002 and 2010. The percentage of cohabiting fathers of firstborns rose from 18 to 25%...

CO-PARENTING IS A TOUGH CHALLENGE, BUT IT’S WORTH THE EFFORT

Co-parenting is often the most difficult challenge that parents face following a divorce. Poor co-parenting can not only be a source of extreme and ongoing stress for the parents but, worse yet, it can be emotionally devastating to the children. It can lead to...

GRANDPARENTS HAVE A LEGAL RIGHT TO VISITATION UNDER ARIZONA LAW

The United States Supreme Court has held that parents have a fundamental constitutional right to control child-rearing. Under Arizona law, a fit parent is presumed to be able to make decisions that are in his/her child’s best interests, and the courts will stay...

“DO’S” AND “DON’TS” FOR DIVORCING PARENTS

I think most divorcing parents would agree that the children are their number one priority.  But, in the midst of a marital break-up – when it feels like your life is coming apart at the seams – keeping the children out of the middle of your dispute can be a real...

YOU ARE THE ADULTS – KEEP THE KIDS OUT OF YOUR DISPUTE … PLEASE!

Mister Rogers (talking to a young boy whose parents are going through a divorce): “I think one of the toughest things for children is for their parents not to be getting along, and so divorce feels like it’s just ripping a piece of cloth apart, and for children to try...