Shoot the Messenger in Family Courts

Yes. They Shoot the Messenger in Child Custody/Access Cases | Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW

A parent called me asking for me to provide an assessment. I explained I do not provide court involved services anymore and explained why. The caller asked for a referral to someone who did. I offered the name of a respected colleague.

www.causes.com/campaigns/44310-bring-awareness-to-parental-alienation-in-family-court

The caller emailed thereafter and included in the email messages that had been posted about the colleague on the Internet. The postings portrayed my colleague quite terribly. The caller wanted to understand how I could refer to such a person. My reply was this:

WHEN are WE as AMERICANS going to STAND UP

…and no longer allow Family Courts to “Courtnap” a child for one parent;

Or allow CPS to kidnap and murder our children?

causes.com/campaigns/44303-get-the-news-media-attention-on-family-law-reform

Why is it so important we reform Family Law?

Why these problems constitute a sophisticated form of Racketeering, something a friend of mine recently named the “cartel of Family Courts”?

Over twenty people testified of the complete dysfunction of our family courts in Miami and all across the state of Florida:  https://vimeo.com/channels/878408.

LRSP Public Meeting Miami-Dade February 23, 2015 — from The Florida Courts 

+ More details

A corruption that is killing our children here and around the world:

CORRUPTION

Here in Florida, the number of children who have died under the mafia of the Family Court system is increasing at an alarming rate. Count went from 490 to 533 (+6 in a matter of days) in only a few months:

Thank you Miami Herald for standing up for our children.

We must unite to put an end to this madness.
If you are tired of seeing innocent children die under the care of the family court system, help us Raise Hell, and stand up for them.
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Ignorance is bliss in some scenarios, and as a father having been involved in a contentious divorce and custody ordeal it was a luxury I found myself longing for at times. Facing a situation where one’s back is against the wall, in a court environment overtly hostile towards those who represent themselves, as a pro se litigant is a place parents should venture with extreme caution. In my situation it came to a point where in keeping up with my own case at times I began to become curious and observe what I knew to be odd behavior and activity within the court and its players.

Fatherless Father’s Day ~ A fight for equal parental rights

Fatherless Father’s Day rally in Bradenton fights for Equal Parental Rights | Bradenton Herald

causes.com/campaigns/44302-stand-up-for-zoraya

Black leather boots and brown hiking sneakers sit under the gazebo outside of the Manatee County Courthouse, waiting for a new home. Not another person’s feet, but on the steps of the courthouse itself.

Gary, who is with Why Dads Matter, said shoes on the courthouse represent familial alienation caused by the family court system. The group is fighting for mothers and fathers to been seen equally in the courts.

Why Dads Matter partnered with Kids Need Both for a “Fatherless Father’s Day” rally Friday, just in time for Father’s Day. About 14 adults and three children at the event held signs saying “Honk 4 Dads” or “Let Dad’s have their children” and speaking out against Child Protective Services.

A former foster child said he was locked in his room; a mother said her daughter was taken away from her without a criminal charge; Gary, who didn’t give his last name, said he hasn’t seen his son in four years even though they live in the same city.

Danica Joan Fields, executive director of Kids Need Both, said she wants to fight any unkind view of parents in high-conflict families.

“Family looks different to everybody,” she said, noting mother-father, grandparents and same-sex couples can be affected, “but the goal is that the child not have an unkind view of one or both of the family.”

She speaks from experience. Having gone through her own custody battle, Fields said she was made to look like an unfit mother. More than five years later, she shares half custody of her five sons and has blended family gatherings in harmony.

“It’s the way it should be,” she said.

Brenda and Daniel Blue Jr. traveled from Lancaster, Texas, to support the cause. The Blues said in their experience, CPS agents lied and put their children in the system for money. When they caught on, they started recording CPS visits.

The couple sent a letter to President Barack Obama on Aug. 12, 2011, detailing 23 adjustments they wanted for CPS. Some requests included ending bonuses paid to each CPS worker for a child removed from a home or adopted through the foster care system, no removal of children from the home without hard evidence and eliminating anonymous accusers.

“The pattern is the same: ‘Get the kids,’” said Raquel Okyay, state director of GovAbuse.

Okyay said she was a victim of CPS and has been investigating them ever since.

Gary said that in his eyes, the courts push families until someone — a parent or child — snaps, then the blame is put on the parent.

Maximizing the time each parent spends with the child

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.)

Parental Alienation Syndrome – This Father’s Struggle.

ALL JUDGES HAVE THE SAME LAST NAME  —  “GOD.”

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……..

STOP Court’s DENIAL of REASONABLE Parent/Child CONTACT

Stop Court Ordered Parental Alienation and Judicial Misconduct

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 Legal custody. The parent who has the custody will be important decision maker about thechild’s health care, doctor, dentist, orthodontist, psychiatric, mental health counseling, therapy,education, religious activities or institutions, welfare, school, childcare, sports,summer camp, vacation, or extracurricular activities, travel, and place of residence.

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.

Other Interesting Articles

Establishing Paternity in Florida

Disestablishment of Paternity in Florida

Paying Child Support When You are Not the Father

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.

causes.com/campaigns/44303-get-the-news-media-attention-on-family-law-reform

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.

http://www.networkedblogs.com/blog/childrensrights_florida

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.

Post by @BoycottFamilyLw.

Source: This is Family Justice! | World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum.

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• A Parental Alienation Syndrome Family Experience
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• Parental Alienation Syndrome
• Miami-Dade County Family Courthouse Violations and PTSD: What Is “Legal Abuse Syndrome”?
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A Thought Received…

…Where They Stand On Family Law Reform

Ask the Presidential Candidates Where They Stand On Family Law Reform | Civil Rights in Family Law Florida

Thought by: David Johnson  received on 08/10/2015 ~~

Divorced Co-Parenting Oxymoron

The Big Lie About Co-Parenting

Divorce is shrouded in terminology that doesn’t begin to describe the intricacies of the relationships affected. It comes down to this: co-parenting or shared-custody is a full-time commitment. It requires just as much negotiating as a married couple engage in. Why would a couple who divorced due to irreconcilable differences be able to co-parent well?

It’s no wonder that often co-parenting is just a clever joining of words without substance. It comes down to who is caring for children the majority of the time — whomever the equation is weighted toward, is in charge. And within that paradigm there is little room for co-anything. And divorced? Forget about it. You are married without the health insurance.

You are never divorced if children are involved. You are perpetually divorcing. If the spoils amount to a cat and a Kitchen Aid bought with hoarded 20 percent discount cards from Macy’s by your former mother-in-law, being fully divorced is possible. This past weekend, negotiating the ends and outs of parenting teenagers, I had to admit, I’m not divorced. It won’t be a done deal until I’m pronounced dead. Time of death, 3:10 a.m. Time of divorcED, 3:11 a.m.

I’m just as married as any other aging former Girl Scout leader littering the hair salons of my small town. We are all covering our gray hair now. We are all stepping through the parenting minefields that are the teenage years. The difference between me and the ladies wearing out-of-style 1990s yellow gold wedding band sets? They may still have health insurance through their spouse, and possibly through the years their spouse has morphed into a good friend. Or, they might live inside stony silence and tolerate their spouse.

It is difficult enough with two parents living under the same roof to parent peacefully. It may be impossible when living under two different roofs. Different roofs, with a backdrop of unfinished business, anger, dislike for the other person and a sense of failure — failure for not having been able to paint the back drop a vibrant orange, for not having been able to find a way to get along, for failing to stay under the same roof.

An enlightened few have figured out how to be peaceful living beneath different roofs. Maybe they had good manners to begin with. Maybe they had a preternatural clarity of mind and an ability to transcend the pain accompanying divorce. I am not one of the shiny few.

I was not able to seamlessly move forward. Along with my less than graceful transformation from married to divorcing, I took a “divorce parenting” class required by the state of Massachusetts.

In the mandated class I learned obvious things: Don’t badmouth your former spouse to your children. Don’t ask your children about your former spouse’s private life. Don’t make your children chose who they like to be with more, you or your former spouse. Be kind to your children. Your children will forever be in shock from the selfish and disruptive decision to divorce made by you and your former spouse (that part I added. But something like that was inferred).

The class had the least amount of sexual energy I had ever felt in a room of mixed genders. Our wicks had been snuffed. We were zombie-like. The teacher was hopeful for us all. He assured us that we would go forth and still have healthy children. That we would indeed recover.

That was (hard to believe) six years ago. It was the spring. My mini van in the parking lot after class was the only thing I recognized inside my new life. The class met for four weeks on consecutive Wednesday evenings. After class, we the wickless wonders would file past lilacs heavy and fat, hanging from well-groomed trees. Each of us had failed at something we had cared enough about to make legal. The lilacs in bloom seemed insulting.