As the divorce rate goes up in the western world, many fathers feel that they need support groups to help them.

These groups exist to give emotional support and practical advice. Fathers find themselves in situations where there is conflict over custody and visitation rights. They may be widowed or a lone parent or have sole custody. Many fathers feel isolated and a group of men in a similar situation can offer shared experiences. In divorce, custody is usually given to the mother and some fathers feel short changed with the arrangements for visiting the child.

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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports in an article dated July 10 that county judges in parts of Missouri - Madison and St. Clair - have introduced mandatory mediation in all disputed child custody cases.

The move to mandatory mediation is considered a positive action to help minimize the damage and cost of child custody cases.

Mandatory mediation makes sense to me. Too often parents who have built up a history of antagonism during their marriage bring their enmity with them when deciding on child custody issues. Mandatory mediation will help to calm the parents and encourage them to focus on the needs of the children instead of their own issues.

Child-focused cooperation between parents is also encouraged by the parenting plan, which must now be submitted in most states when filing for divorce.

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An article in the British Daily Mail is a chilling reminder of what can happen when lawyers, not parents, control child custody cases.

My fight for every father explains how lawyers created such chaos that they drove an ordinary father to the extreme of abducting his own daughter.

What’s frightening is the stark contrast between how things began and how they ended.
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Assuming that you have several prospective divorce lawyers in mind to handle your divorce or custody case, you must investigate the qualifications of each attorney. Before investigating the qualifications of each attorney, you would be wise to set the bar on the minimum qualifications that are acceptable to you. An attorney’s qualifications in the following 5 areas will help you in your investigation.

(1) Percentage of practice devoted to family law
(2) Years of experience
(3) Certified specialist
(4) Law school and education
(5) Memberships
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Having kids is not a game, it’s a big responsibility. This will be a human life, that will be depending on you, for many years to come. It’s not right for two people, married or not, to expect a child to complete their lives. That’s way too much pressure to put on a child. You shouldn’t bring a child into the world, unless you can totally devote yourself to your child. It’s not just your life that’s being affected, but the way you raise and interact with your child will have a tremendous affect on how your child will interact with society at large.

Most couples start out by loving their kids and putting the needs of their kids ahead of everything else. But somehow, their values and good intentions can go astray, when the couples break up. Relationships aren’t easy, but the ending of a relationship, when kids are involved, is especially tough. The biggest losers, when these relationships end, are the kids. Not only have they lost some stability, but chances are they’ll be put in the middle of a custody battle.
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Receiving the child support you are due can be a complicated issue. This is even more so when the non-custodial parent is not resident in the U.S.

The State Department does have help available on this issue. Articles found at this State Department page help to answer the following questions.

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