Manatee Judicial Center 1051 Manatee Ave W, Bradenton, FL 34205 and 12th Circuit Courthouse Sarasota Lynn N. Silvertooth Judicial Center 2002 Ringling Boulevard Sarasota, Florida 34237
Event will be from 10am-2pm email for more information or to help- whydadsmatter@yahoo.com
We are calling on all fathers to place a pair of work boots or shoes on the steps of the Family Court house.
This is to represent how many fathers have been reduced to a paycheck and are hot allowed to be present in their children’s lives. Inside your shoes/boots place a letter telling your story.
We are Fathers! We are not visitors. We are not a paycheck.
Make your statement heard. Make Flyers, banners, posters, signs and bring your friends. to support you and your children.
Today I know manyfatherless children, and none are without a fantasy — there is a father on Father’s Day, if only in their fictions, we must take a stance
This event will be covered by the press and parts being recorded will be used in an upcoming Documentary
More than 100 supporters for the alimony Reform Bill converge on Tallahassee April 12, 2016 to present to Rick Scott‘s office our concerns and protesting with the chant Sign the Bill…Sign the Bill. Why Dads Matter and other support groups showed up as well. Governor Rick Scott has one week to sign, veto or do nothing then becomes law.
An honor to be recognized by the Sarasota County County Commissioners for our efforts to expose Parental Alienation in the 12th Judicial Courts and throughout the State. 22 million are affected by this injustice. Why Dads Matter and Danica Jones with Kids Need Both hope to make a difference for generations to come Whydadsmatter.com & Kidsneedboth.org
Published on Mar 14, 2016 TED TALK Parental alienation is a devastating problem affecting millions of families around the world. Unfortunately, much like how we addressed domestic violence several decades ago, we treat parental alienation as a domestic issue rather than as a problem that affects communities, school systems, police and court systems, mental health and financial institutions, and legislative bodies. I will discuss how our social and cultural systems sanction and even promote parental alienation at the expense of our children, and what can be done about it.
Dr. Harman is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Colorado State University and is the Program Coordinator for the Applied Social & Health Psychology Program. She is an accomplished and awarded teacher, and has published many peer-reviewed articles and textbooks on intimate relationships, such as The Science of Relationships: Answers to your Questions about Dating, Marriage and Family. She is also a contributor to ScienceofRelationships.com, a relationship science resource for the on-line community, and is interviewed as a relationship expert for many national and international media outlets (Chicago Tribune, the Denver Post, NY Magazine, datingadvice.com, and the Irish Independent). She has more recently applied her research expertise in social psychology to better understand and find solutions for parental alienation because she has been a target of it herself.
Source: On June 17, 2016, We will be holding a rally at… – The Florida Fathers’ Rights Movement
This is Family Justice! | World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum.
It’s time to stand up and be counted. Just look around you. There is an enhanced appreciation for the vital role both parents play in rearing healthy, happy, well – adjusted children. It makes good sense for our Family Courts in accounting for our children’s needs to consider also any benefits associated with the maximizing the time each parent spends with the child, as well as the detriment of limiting the child’s time with either parent. Until we stop reducing the richly textured experience of parenting children to fights about time, we won’t recognize the variety of ways in which unique and meaningful parent – child relationships can be maximized in shared parenting, not just in a two week rotating schedule, but over a lifetime.
Whatever the court setting, whether it is regarding divorce, child custody, parental support, probate matters, personal injury, property disputes, legal or medical malpractice, criminal charges, or other deeply personal issues, the frauds put forth in our courts add greatly to the trauma. When litigants are unable to get fair resolution to their issues, when the court dysfunction further adds to the litigant’s burden, when no amount of actual case law compels an equitable outcome, litigants suffer often disabling levels of stress.
When further attempts to achieve redress fail, litigants display the hallmark signs of Legal Abuse Syndrome (LAS). *The concept of Legal Abuse Syndrome was brought to the attention of this writer by investigative journalist Michael Volpe, who’s completing a book on the life and suicide of ones of its victims. The book’s pre-publication title is Bullied to Death: The Chris Mackney Story. (Dr. Huffer, incidentally, invites reports of cases like this one on her website’s Contact page.)
Time to stop absolute discretion and immunity for Family Court Judges. They operate above the very laws they seek to enforce. They sit in judgement of families with no checks and balances. This legal loophole has been used as a means by corrupt Judges and Attorneys. No one should be beyond the laws that all other citizens of the society live by. So……..
FLORIDA! STOP VIOLATING PARENT’S RIGHTS/STOP ALIENATING PARENTS FROM
THEIR CHILDREN! FLORIDA CASES OF DENIAL OF CONTACT OF “FIT” PARENTS SIMILAR TO THIS CAUSE’S CASE.: CAUSES.COM – FLORIDA! STOP VIOLATING PARENT’S RIGHTS/STOP ALIENATING PARENTS FROM THEIR CHILDREN!
”This crime of parental alienation at the hands of our court system…
Child custody and visitation; the relationship continues
Who is going to have custody of children when the couple separate or divorce? This decision has to be made along with, how the children will be taken care of and the visitation, the how of each parent spending time with the children. Relationships cause connectedness and there are orders to abide by. There are two types of custody orders.
There is also physical custody, ordering with whom the child will live. In joint custody the child can live with both. Under sole or primary custody the child will live with one parent much of the time and visits the other parent usually. There are cases of judges allowing parents joint legal custody and not joint physical custody, both parents share the responsibility in important decision making and the child lives with one parent and the other receives visitation right.
There is visitation plan to prevent and reduce confusion, anger and further conflict. Under supervised visitation, when the child’s safety and well-being is at issue or if the child and the other parent would need gradual exposure, it is supervised by custodial parent, an adult, a professional agency or a mental health counselor. There is also a “no visitation” rule about that, even if with supervision, physical and/or emotional welfare of the child can be jeopardized. When visitation, custody or time share plan is drawn the above issues are clarified.
There are visitation guidelines, also known as time-share. Here a plan is set about how the both parents will share the time with the children. Either one (sole custody) or both parents (called shared custody) can have custody. Under normal circumstances, the judge consorts about arrangements with the parents and reaches a final decision about custody and visitation. If there is disagreement between the parents the judge will make that decision at a hearing. There is usually a mediator about custody and visitation. The family court services provide the mediator for the parents to reconcile.
Custody and visitation is decided considering the best interest of the child’s health, safety and wellbeing. Here history of abuse by either or both parents is considered.
The Five Methods Of Establishing Paternity In Florida
In Florida, there are five ways to establish paternity. The first is marriage. If the mother and father are married to one another at the time of the child’s birth, paternity is automatically established. The second method, as will be discussed at length below, is through an Acknowledgement of Paternity form. This method involves the signing of a legal document, whether in the hospital at the time of the child’s birth, or later on. The third method is an administrative order based on genetic testing. Genetic testing is done through DNA testing, and involves a comparison of the DNA of the mother, alleged father, and child. The fourth method is court-ordered paternity by a judge. Finally, there is the method of legitimation. Legitimation occurs when the mother and natural father get married to one another after the child is born, and then formally update the child’s birth record.
The State Statute Governing Paternity in Florida
Paternity laws are covered in Florida statute 742.10. As shown by the existence of five different ways of establishing paternity in Florida, a distinction is made by whether the child was born in or out of wedlock. This distinction has bearing on whether a father is biological father, legal father, or both.
A father is both the legal and biological father is he was married to the child’s mother at the time of the child’s birth. If, however, the child was born out of wedlock, a biological father will have to take formal legal steps to become the child’s legal father. This process is relatively easy if the father and mother are on good terms, and have a mutual desire for one another to visit and develop a parental relationship with the child, support the child’s financial, educational, and health needs, and participate in the child’s upbringing. In such cases, the Acknowledgement of Paternity is voluntary, and not at risk of cancellation by either party.
Acknowledgement of Paternity Alone Does Not Grant Custody Rights
Fathers often think the Acknowledgement of Paternity form grants more rights than it really does. This is understandable, given the language of rights, responsibilities and duties on the form. However, legal establishment of paternity does not guarantee actual custody rights, such as time-sharing or making decisions regarding the child’s education and upbringing. These rights must be granted by a court. Absent court-ordered time sharing and parental responsibility rights, a father, in reality, possesses only limited rights. Notice is one such right, meaning a father with legally established paternity rights is entitled to notification in the event the mother chooses to put the child up for adoption. Additionally, such notice provides a father with paternity an opportunity to obtain custody rights. Lastly, just as an Acknowledge of Paternity does grant some limited rights, it also restricts rights. For example, by acknowledging paternity, a father, absent fraud or duress, will almost certainly be prohibited from later calling paternity into question by requesting a DNA test.
The Putative Father Registry May Afford An Opportunity To Assert Custody Rights
For fathers seeking custody in lieu of the mother putting the child up for adoption, the Putative Father Registry is one option. Putative means “generally considered or reputed to be.” The purpose of the registry to allow a man contending to be the unmarried biological father of a child to preserve his right of notice and consent in the event of an adoption. As with the Acknowledgement of Paternity, registration is time-sensitive. While a claim of paternity may be filed at any time before the child’s birth, a claim may not be filed after a petition for termination of parental rights is filed.
Lawson E. Thomas Courthouse Center 175 NW First Avenue Miami, Florida 33128
Full Responsibilities Even When There Are Only Limited Rights
Though an Acknowledgement of Paternity creates only limited rights, it does create serious responsibilities. By signing the form and assuming legal responsibility for a child, a father becomes liable for providing financial support for the child.
Filing a Petition for Paternity Is The Only Way To Obtain Legal Custody and Decision-Making Rights If the Mother and Father Were Unmarried At the Time of The Child’s Birth
To obtain more than the limited rights created by an Acknowledgement of Paternity or registration with the Putative Father Registry, a father must file a Petition for Paternity. Admittedly, this is confusing; why, after all, would one need to petition forpaternity after acknowledging it? Nonetheless, the petition must be filed. In doing so, one requests that the court grant the father decision-making and time-sharing rights. Absent such a grant of rights, the child’s mother possesses all rights concerning parental responsibility and custody. All this is to say that an Acknowledgement of Paternity merely establishes the presumption that the man who signed the child’s birth certificate is the father of the child. It is the Petition for Paternity that confirms the presumption and actually creates the father’s parental rights.
There Are Numerous Benefits To A Successful Petition for Paternity
A successful petition for paternity grants a father several significant rights. By granting parental responsibility rights, the court gives a father the right to participate in decision-making concerning the child’s education and healthcare. Secondly, a successful paternity action mandates a time-sharing arrangement, thereby allowing a father to spend time with the child. Third, a successful paternity action has bearing on child support, allowing for modifications based on the amount of time the child spends at the father’s home. Finally, a successful Petition for Paternity has long-term ramifications, as it safeguards the child’s inheritance and Social Security rights with regard to the father.
Disadvantages To Not Filing A Petition For Paternity
Absent the creation of time-sharing and decision-making rights via a Petition for Paternity, it is possible that the child’s mother may decide to move the child outside the state of Florida. Obviously, this scenario poses serious problems for a Florida-based father wishing to enjoy custody and responsibility-related rights. Additionally, a father without court-established parental rights will be unable to legally cause the mother and child to return to the state. For fathers who have established rights through a Petition for Paternity, however, the mother must seek written permission or a court order authorizing out-of-state relocation of a child.
Sometimes a court-ordered DNA Test Is Required To Identify A Child’s Biological Father
When the relationship between an unwed mother and father of a child ends, it is sometimes the first time that the father is forced to consider the need to legally establish paternity. Other times, there was little or no relationship to begin with. In these instances, especially the latter, a court-ordered DNA test may be required to legally identify the child’s biological father. A DNA test is a scientific, genetic test used to determine whether or not a man is the child’s father. It is a common misconception that a DNA test requires needles or blood. Because DNA exists in literally every cell in the body, skin cells are sufficient. For a DNA test, a swab is used to collect cells from inside the cheek area near the mouth. The process is completely painless. For a DNA test to establish paternity, the alleged father, mother, and child are scheduled for testing. At the testing site, identification must be provided. Acceptable forms of ID include picture identification, such as a driver’s license or passport, as well as a Social Security card or birth certificate. All three parties – mother, father, and child – provide DNA samples, and also have their pictures taken. The DNA samples and photos are then sent to a genetic testing laboratory. There, the cells are all compared. It is this comparison that determines whether the alleged father is indeed the child’s biological father. The test results are then mailed to mother and alleged father.
¿Por qué decir NO a que abogados sean elegidos en la Legislatura? Mire explicacion.post cardespanol03b
In The Event You Learn Later That You Are Not In Fact the Child’s Biological Father
In Florida, it is possible for a man who later discovers that he is not a child’s biological father to nonetheless still be responsible for providing child support. This is because, with regard to family law issues, courts make decisions in the best interests of the child rather than the father. However, Florida law does provide a mechanism by which one can challenge a prior determination of legal paternity. The procedure is known as a Disestablishment of Paternity. If successful, the procedure terminates all support obligations. Because of the procedure’s complexity, individuals confronted with this situation are advised to seek the counsel of one of our experienced Florida family law attorneys.
What To Do If You Are A Father Whose Name Does Not Appear On Your Child’s Birth Certificate
If you are a father whose name does not appear on your child’s birth certificate, you may want to consider taking steps to legally establish paternity. Doing so could greatly benefit your child. With paternity legally established, your child will be able to access information on your family medical history. This information may be of critical importance, given your family’s health history. Second, most obviously, your father will know who his or her father is. Even if you don’t have a custodial relationship with your child now or even in the near future, your child may very well wish to know your identity.
For historical reasons, it may be beneficial for both you and your child to have your name on your child’s birth certificate. Legal paternity also allows your child to benefit from your ability to provide your child with health or life insurance. The same is true for more easily receiving child and medical support from you. In addition, the existence of formal paternity allows your child to receive Social Security or veteran’s benefits, as well as military allowances and inheritances.
Just as your child may benefit from a determination of paternity, the same is true for you. An Acknowledgement of Paternity gives you the right of notice – something that may be of critical importance if the child’s mother elects to put the child up for adoption. Of course, a Petition for Paternity goes beyond the birth certificate and allows for the creation of time-sharing and decision-making rights. With a successful Petition for Paternity, you will be able to get a child support order, a court order for visitation or custody, and contribute input concerning legal decisions affecting the child.
Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (FL-20) sent the following letter to Florida Governor Rick Scott after the recent deaths of five children previously involved with the Department of Children and Families (DCF). In each instance, the parents charged with the safekeeping of these children had histories of neglect or abuse, but were deemed suitable custodians of the children by DCF investigators. Joining Hastings as co-signers of the letter were Representatives Ted Deutch (FL-21), Lois Frankel (FL-22) and Patrick Murphy (FL-18).
The Honorable Rick Scott Governor Executive Office of Governor Rick Scott 400 S. Monroe St. Tallahassee, FL 32399
Dear Governor Scott:
The past few weeks have been marred by the deaths of several young children who previously had contact with the Department of Children and Families (DCF). When looking at the function of child protective services and the responsibilities the state has when intervening in families, the foremost precept has always been safety. Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding these deaths indicate that at some point, the safety of children lost its status as the prime operating principle of DCF in South Florida.
The facts of several of these cases as reported are disturbing. Not simply for the terrible manner in which these children died, but also for the fact that there were points where had investigators engaged in meaningful intervention, these children might be alive today. These tragic deaths are a signal that something beyond investigator judgment, assessments, forms, and follow through is wrong. We have been through this cycle of death, outrage, and reform before, and we are in the midst of this cycle again.
This cycle too easily devolves into foster care panic, where front-line social workers and investigators fearful of castigation needlessly remove children from their homes. Family preservation and child trauma are important considerations when determining the type of intervention the state will impose on a family. Certainly, there are many cases which warrant in- home services and supervision over removing children from their homes. These considerations should not fall by the wayside and be replaced with a removal fits all mentality. Conversely, this cycle must not lead to yet another form or assessment for child-welfare workers to fill out that ultimately leads to no real change or reflection.
State Senator Eleanor Sobel called for hearings and you have accepted former DCF Secretary Wilkins’ resignation. However, hearings may lead only to promises and overhauls that “work” until another scandal occurs. If Florida is to have a responsive, functional child-welfare system, the response to this string of deaths must lead to comprehensive reforms both with DCF and Florida’s treatment of children in general.
Governor Scott, we urge you to convene an independent panel to study child well-being within the state and make recommendations as to how we go about making Florida a state that truly nurtures and cares for its youngest. Florida must recognize and embrace prevention measures and become proactive.
The Law, as written, empowers Judges to protect children from parental alienation. They have the tools at their disposal to determine the presence of abuse.
The legal profession and the psychological profession are failing to protect children from a foreseeable harm, by ignoring the dynamics of power and control and the presence of Domestic Violence. The Courts who are responsible for managing the conflict and are beholden on the Psychological professionals and forensic evaluators to understand the conflict. The law empowers Judges to also obtain information about the conflict through other methods, such as GuardianAd Litems, Parenting Coordinators, and Court Appointed Special Advocates.
Last Friday witnessed the death of one of the most significant pieces of family law legislation to come across his desk in two years. Now fathers and children will have to pay the price for Scott’s fear of the extreme leftist-feminist in his state.
Rick Scott vetoed the combined shared parenting and alimony reform law based on the false pretense that this law would hurt children. According to the Miami Herald,
He said he was troubled by a provision in the bill (SB 668) that would require judges to begin divorce proceedings with a premise that both parents are entitled to approximately equal time with their children. Scott said that would put “the wants of a parent before the child’s best interest by creating a premise of equal time-sharing,” a decision that he said should be left to judges.
Anyone who has taken even one child development course knows the best environment for children is with his or her mother and father playing significant daily roles. Many studies report that children fair much better when children spend equal time with both parents.
The real reason why Gov. Scott vetoed the bill had everything to do with money. Divorced mothers would be loosing a great deal of child support with the new shared custody structure.
Children love and need both parents. During marriage, there is automatic joint custody of all children.
Why should divorce erase a parent from a child’s life?
Why should a family have to spend large sums of money on a potentially ruinous custody battle when those funds could go to benefit the child?
Why should one parent be reduced to spending only a few days a month with a child, if he or she is ready, willing and able to be a capable parent?
The children suffer the most in such arrangements because, as many child experts point out, children benefit from bonding with two parents.
There is no statutory joint custody in Maryland. And no judge would willingly give sole custody or joint custody to an abusive or neglectful parent.
In the current sole-custody climate, there are often charges and counter-charges, and judges must determine which parent will be the “winner” in a custody battle.
If the commission can help utilize joint custody, mediation, parent education, collaborative law and expedited handling of custody complaints, while respecting children’s rights, it will have done a great service to the children of Maryland.
Why Is It So Hard To Pass Shared Parenting Legislation?
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the shared parenting movement is that despite such overwhelming support, progress continues to inch forward in tiny increments.
IS FLORIDA’S GOVERNOR SCOTT MAKING ALIMONY REFORM POLITICAL AGAIN? – Press Release Rocket
TALLAHASSEE, FL – 25 Mar, 2016 – Florida’s alimony laws were written in the 1800’s and do not relate to today’s complexities – so, every one’s having a heyday – the lawyers representing alimony payers and recipients have lots of litigation and billable hours – the judges get to “judge” what they want as the law is so vague and in some cases they completely ignore the law on the books – and the alimony recipients are cashing their alimony checks and heading to the beach.
Under Florida’s alimony law, “durational” alimony makes sense as the alimony receiver and payer have a defined termination date.
However, one of Florida’s many alimony problems is “permanent” alimony – a lifetime sentence.
And, no matter what, it better be paid – even if you lose your job, retire, or get sick.
If you stop paying alimony, no matter how legitimate your reason is for your inability to pay, you are declared to be in contempt of court and you go to jail; fair, I think not.
Under Florida’s lifetime alimony, the “ex” lives in hiding and will never remarry, because the remarriage would cause alimony payments to stop.
Also, if you pay alimony to an “ex” (the first wife) and you get remarried, your first wife is now entitled under Florida law to receive some of your new spouse’s income – as the new spouse’s income increases your ability to pay.
Site of proposed anti-corruption rally in Washington D.C. on September 17, 2016 (view from Lincoln Monument).
Have you finally had enough? Hardly a day goes by without another shocking display of government corruption impacting our nation like never before. And no one with a conscience is doing much about it short of knee-jerk reactions to catastrophic events.
From Bernie Madoff to the doctoring of public disclosures in the Orlando mass murders, the public is routinely the victim. Law abiding gun owners are targeted instead of the killer whose terrorist communications were doctored. So who’s the real enemy here?
As a self governing nation, we have a duty under our Constitution to make a stand. This is your government they are corrupting, your IRS paid for by your tax dollars that is suppressing free speech, your courts which are complicit in the scandals. It’s time for a mass rally against corruption in Washington D.C. on Constitution Day, 2016.
That’s only three (3) months, so if you love your country, your families and way of life, join us for a defining moment in American history. Don’t expect your neighbor or the few activists here to do it for you. We can be just as apathetic, bowling, basketball-watching or “raising awareness” to no one who cares from the comfort of our keyboards, but nothing will be gained until we make our grievances known, like it says in the First Amendment.
So get started now. Don’t get diluted through distractions. You mean something under the true government.
Remember the phrase “We the People?”
That’s you and me along with the rest accepting corruption as if it is to be expected now. Exercise your rights as you would your own body for the health of a government we created.Get organized in your back yards, construct the protest signs, and make arrangements with organizations to be there.
We’re just inviting you to take a timeout into the rhythmic ambiance of our breakfast, brunch and/or coffee selections. We are happy whenever you stop by.
The Florida Fathers’ Rights Movement
paternity after acknowledging it? Nonetheless, the petition must be filed. In doing so, one requests that the court grant the father decision-making and time-sharing rights. Absent such a grant of rights, the child’s mother possesses all rights concerning parental responsibility and custody. All this is to say that an Acknowledgement of Paternity merely establishes the presumption that the man who signed the child’s birth certificate is the father of the child. It is the Petition for Paternity that confirms the presumption and actually creates the father’s parental rights.
greatly benefit your child. With paternity legally established, your child will be able to access information on your family medical history. This information may be of critical importance, given your family’s health history. Second, most obviously, your father will know who his or her father is. Even if you don’t have a custodial relationship with your child now or even in the near future, your child may very well wish to know your identity. 
Source: 
Letter to Governor 
Rick Scott
Making children the winners in custody cases – The 
Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the shared 
Children's Rights 