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ARTICLES,
RESEARCH-GENERAL
ARTICLES,
RESEARCH-FAMILY LAW
LEGAL RESOURCES
Attorney
Associations, Directories
Divorce Law Information
FLORIDA LAW and Government
Legal Research Sites
General Reference
Re-EVALUATING THE EVALUATORS: "...No
research exists which shows that custody recommendations made by MHPs result
in better child outcomes. See Shuman, What Should We Permit
Mental Health Professionals to Say About "The Best Interests of the
Child"?, infra, note 129.
And see generally, Peter Ash, et
al., Relitigation after contested custody and visitation evaluations,
14 Bull. Am. Acad. Psych. & L. 323 (1986), and Janet R. Johnston,
Developing and testing group interventions for families at impasse.
Final Report submitted to the Statewide Office of Family Court Services,
Administrative Office of the Courts, Judicial Council of the State
of California, San Francisco (1999). Studies indicate that parents who
are subjected to the forced and artificial arrangement of their families
by third party evaluators have two to two and a half times the rate of
relitigation of parents who do not undergo the custody evaluation process.
The direction of "causation" is unclear -- more litigious parties
may skew the group of those who end up with third party evaluators -- but
what is fairly clear is that the most benign characterization of the findings
is that the MHPs aren't helping cut down on the relitigation rate.
While a number of researchers purport to have
found relitigation rates lower following mediated decisions, or (primarily
in early studies) in joint custody arrangements, not one of these studies
appears to have corrected for (in the first case) the reality that negotiated
agreements are not as legally amenable to modification as court orders,
or (in both cases) that couples who achieved accord in mediation, as well
as those who voluntarily chose early joint custody arrangements were already
relatively more amicable couples. An example of an "earlier"
study would be the master's-level research often cited in father's rights
papers, Shanon J. Alexander, Protecting the Child's Rights in Custody
Cases, F.S.U. Fam. Coordinator (October 1977) ("better results
for joint custody than sole custody... relitigation rate for joint custody
was half that for sole custody (16% vs. 32%).")
..." Read more at Re-evaluating the Evaluators
Also see articles on Therapeutic Jurisprudence at thelizlibrary.org
Divorce
Law Information
PARENTING COORDINATION: "The parenting coordinator concept encroaches on family liberty interests, bringing the government behind the closed doors of people's lives, injecting into the private realm a third party who is not in any way more capable than either of the parents are to make day-to-day decisions about their own families, values, and goals.
Parenting coordination is a made-up, make-work field...
There are no studies indicating that parenting coordinators make good decisions,
improve the lives of children or parents, or improve child wellbeing.
And, there is no reason to believe they would...
In the inane insistence that "both" parents "participate" in making decisions regarding the child, in order to avoid stalemate, parenting coordination is the tool for unworkable custody and timeshare arrangements, notably joint custody, which removes from BOTH parents the right to function with authority and automony. A big flaw in the concept of joint custody is that, instead of having at least one functional parent, the joint custody child now has two ineffective half-parents who may not function except in tandem, and ironically they are typically the kind of parents least able to pull this off. With a parenting coordinator or guardian ad litem added into the mix, the child does not even have that, because instead of two half-parents sharing an undivided fundamental parental liberty interest, the child has half-parents who report to a parenting boss. It's involvement by the state in the complete absence of any actual threat to the child that ordinarily would justify state intrusion like this.
One should counter: if a third party stranger, based upon no established field of expertise whatsoever, is supposedly qualified to make and facilitate decisions impacting other people's family lives, something that is not even usually encouraged in clinical therapy, then why is not the better solution just to assign that authority to one of the parents? The spheres of decision-making authority can be allocated too. It would be easier, cheaper, quicker, and done. And at least then the child would have one real and functional authoritative parent, something that IS demonstrably evidenced in the research to be necessary for child security and well-being.
While the rhetoric is rampant that parents are less likely or unlikely to consider their children before themselves in their decision-making when they are embattled in divorce and post-divorce issues, no research actually substantiates this concocted rationale....
Read more at Parenting Coordination Issues
Florida
Law
FLORIDA FAMILY LAW SELF-HELP CENTER, forms and more Florida Family Law forms
Florida Handbook on Discovery (2007)
Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, Florida Rules of Family Law Procedure, etc.
FLORIDA STATE COURTS
FLORIDA STATUTES, CONSTITUTION
Google Advanced Scholar Search Page find scholarly articles
Municipal Codes for all Cities in the United States
Public Law Library, The free public law library: laws, regulations, cases
Where to Obtain Vital Records (birth, death, marriage certificates)
ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIPS: "Family law is notorious for having attorney-client relationship problems. It seems we're always hearing about attorneys who withdraw at inconvenient times, demand unexpected trial retainers, or don't return phone calls promptly. Clients want to know what they reasonably can expect from their lawyers beyond a minimum adherence to bar regulations and ethics rules. They also want to know what they can do to bring out the best efforts from their own lawyer.
What a Client Has The Right to Expect from a Lawyer..."
Read more at The Good Attorney-Client Relationship
at the Florida Collaborative Family Law website.
Attorney
and Association Directories
COLLABORATIVE LAW FOR PROBATE: "Although we most often hear of collaborative law being used for collaborative divorce and the resolution of other family law disputes, "collaborative law" encompasses, but is not synonymous with "collaborative divorce" or "collaborative family law". As a method of dispute resolution, collaborative law is broader than that, and it may be an ideal vehicle to consider when disputes arise in the areas of probate, trust administration, and estate planning...
The repercussions from litigation among family members, especially when it occurs under circumstances of high emotion because of a loved one's passing or looming death, can leave its poison for generations to come. These cases affect not merely the disputants, but also children and other relatives who, although not even directly involved in any disagreement, frequently end up taking sides. The prolonged financial and emotional damage to children, siblings, cousins, spouses, and other relatives can ignite additional disputes and unnecessarily, permanently destroy family relationships of individuals who were not even involved in the original dispute.
Collaborative law also has been found to be suitable for partnership dissolutions, issues involving closely-held corporations, and employment disputes. What all of these matters tend to have in common is the need to preserve and protect ongoing relationships...
Read more at Collaborative Law for Probate Disputes: an emerging trend
Legal
Research Sites
WOMEN'S HISTORY: "In the
nineteenth century hundreds of women performed professional feats of strength
and endurance. Endurance walkers and runners known as pedestriennes were
particularly newsworthy, gaining metropolitan newspaper coverage
in Britain and North America from the mid-1870s to the late 1880s.
By the early twentieth century, however, historical
recognition of these women was scarce. Popular
accounts of pedestrienne performances surfaced in the 1960s and 1970s,
yet these women have received minimal scholarly attention.
Some sport histories do not even acknowledge womens participation in pedestrianism.
Others have recorded their performances as a
single incident or a short-lived fad.
Contemporary texts that analyze women's
roles in sport relegate the efforts of the pedestriennes to a few sentences.
Some histories briefly acknowledge the athletic
endurance and significance of these women with few if any sources.
Two sources recognize a history of womens footraces in England, but suggest
that the phenomenon died out by the mid-nineteenth century...
Read more about Pedestriennes at The Liz Library
General
Reference
TRISH
WILSON'S ARTICLES ON THIS WEBSITE
and documents on the Father's Rights Movement
CHILD CUSTODY: BREAKING THE SILENCE: CHILDREN'S STORIES
Abused Children and Mothers Speak - Fathers' Rights Activists Attack
CHILD CUSTODY: CALIFORNIA NOW FAMILY COURT REPORT
2002
versus Glenn Sacks: Trish WIlson commentary
CHILD CUSTODY:
FRIENDLY PARENT PROVISIONS
Other-Than-Gardner Versions of "Parental Alienation Syndrome"
(more) Wilson's
testimony against Washington State friendly parent proposal
CHILD CUSTODY:
IMPACT OF THE CUSTODY PLAN ON THE FAMILY
Parental Dissatisfaction with Joint Custody
CHILD CUSTODY: JOINT
CUSTODY NOT IN THE BEST INTEREST OF CHILDREN
Research Contradicts Claims of Fathers' Rights Groups
(Also see LIZNOTES
on Joint Custody Research)
(Also see LIZNOTES
Myths and Facts About Fatherhood)
CHILD CUSTODY: THE TRUTH ABOUT JOINT CUSTODY
Don't Call it "Shared Parenting"
CHILD CUSTODY
TIMESHARE: SANFORD BRAVER AND MOVEAWAYS
Relocation of Children after Divorce, misrepresented research.
Includes information and commentary about Robert Bauserman's "joint
custody research".
(Also see LIZNOTES
on the Bauserman study.)
CUSTODY RESEARCH:
PAUL AMATO
(Also see LIZNOTES
Myths and Facts About Fatherhood)
CUSTODY RESEARCH:
ELEANOR MACCOBY
(Also see LIZNOTES
on Joint Custody Research)
FATHERHOOD RESEARCH:
FALSE ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE
Not as Common as the Father's Rights and False Allegations Groups
Want the Public to Think
FATHERLESS RESEARCH: DECONSTRUCTING FATHERHOOD PROPAGANDA
Comments on "Deconstructing the Essential Father" by
Louise B. Silverstein and Carl F. Auerbach
FATHERHOOD RESEARCH:
FATHERLESSNESS
Excerpts from Michael E. Lamb's "The Role of the Father"
(Also see LIZNOTES
Myths and Facts About Fatherhood)
(Also see LIZNOTES
on Lamb and Kelly's Infant Custody Ideas)
(Also see
FATHERLESS CHILDREN STORIES)
FATHERS'
RIGHTS MOVEMENT: THE CHILD CUSTODY WAR
A War Against Women (backlash against women's rights gains)
FATHERS
RIGHTS INFILTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
American Fathers Coalition (AFC)
FATHERS
RIGHTS INFILTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Children's Rights Council (CRC)
FATHERS
RIGHTS INFILTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Fathers' Rights and Equality Exchange (F.R.E.E.), Brent Wellman,
Anne P. Mitchell
FATHERS
RIGHTS INFILTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Institute for American Values, David Blankenhorn
FATHERS
RIGHTS INFILTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Joint Custody Association, Jim Cook
FATHERS
RIGHTS INFILTRATION OF DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
National Association for Fathers and Children (NCFC)
FATHERS'
RIGHTS MOVEMENT: IT'S "THE USUAL SUSPECTS"
American Fathers' Coalition (AFC), American Coalition for Fathers
and Children (ACFC), Coalition of Parental Support (COPS), Fathers' Manifesto.
FATHERS'
RIGHTS MOVEMENT: ROBERT HIRSCHFELD DISBARRED
Robert Hirschfeld (of the National Association for Fathers and
Children, NCFC)
FATHERS'
RIGHTS MOVEMENT: MURRAY STEINBERG JAILED
(Father's
Manifesto signer), husband of custody
evaluator Barbara Steinberg
FATHERS'
RIGHTSTERS CAMPAIGN AGAINST WILSON ARTICLES
American Father's Coalition (AFC) and Dave Usher
(The AFC is the precursor organization to ACFC, The American Coalition
of Fathers and Children)
(more) Father's
Rights Trolling -- Business as Usual by Trish Wilson
WARREN
FARRELL: TRISH WILSON RESPONDS
(Also see LIZNOTES
on Warren Farrell)
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HISTORY LIBRARY | RESEARCH ROOMS
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FATHERLESS CHILDREN STORIES
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| WOMAN SUFFRAGE
TIMELINE | THE LIZ LIBRARY
ENTRANCE
Except
as otherwise noted, all contents in this collection are copyright 1996-2010
the liz library. All rights
reserved.
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