A self-censored chronicle of family court dramas, lived by parents who lost all or some visitation with or custody of a child or children based on perjury and/or other false courtroom evidence
The Journal of Father-Daughter Communications reports on the great work being done in the global community, with regard to Fatherhood and the Father-Daughter relationship dynamics. Utilizing the voices of multicultural contributing writers, we offer innovative and useful information, parenting tips for fathers of daughters, comedic antidotes and advice that speak to the interests of our diverse readers. Readers enjoy global news reports, video news, current events announcements, and groundbreaking research articles. Here educators, practitioners and parents will find the diverse resources they need about fathers and daughters, their unique relationship, how they impact one another, and the issue that impact their relationship; from multicultural (ethnic) perspectives. Journalists can source diverse Family Service industry experts to interview. Advertisers can connect with a multicultural audience of consumers!The Journal is published by Karen Davis-Johnson, M.A PhD Student of Psychology, Father-Daughter Relationship Educator-Consultant, Founder of the online Institute for Father Daughter Communications, Chief Consultant for Johnson and Johnson Consutling-CFLS and author of The Father's Guide to Raising Daughters and Voices of Daughters.
There is something special about the relationship between a father and his daughter. Brendan Malone gives some tips on how to make the most of that time. — I do not consider myself a parenting expert by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I generally tend to harbor a mild suspicion about people who are labeled as “parenting experts,”…Read More
"We Have Your Daughter" is the first in a series of three books called "A Father's Journey." In an epic eight-year battle the author continually sought to find his daughter. He was falsely accused, put into jail, prosecuted, and finally prevailed! Follow the journey and see how the story unfolds.Join the "We have Your Daughter"…Read More
According to the 2007 UNICEF report on the well-being of children in economically advanced nations, children in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. rank extremely low in regard to social and emotional well-being in particular. Many theories have been advanced to explain the poor state of our nations’ children: child poverty, race and social class. A…Read More
We believe that if we “take the high road” and “do the right thing” by other family members, that the Justice system will recognize that when considering motions and making rulings. We believe we will be able to get a fair outcome as good parents, and that we will be allowed to provide for and protect our children.
If we are present in our kids’ lives, contributing and working to balance many challenges, we should be recognized for our value, and supported in our roles.
We believe that the professionals will factor in the evidence and truth of our lives, and use everything in their power – within what our laws allow – to help us help our children.
Large numbers of fathers have found that NOT to be the case.
We are alarmed at the number of pending cases in the Atlanta area involving the use of false allegations against good parents. The fathers we are getting to know are revealing that their attorneys have the evidence needed to defend them and to correct the situation, or to avoid it to begin with, but for some reason are not pursuing balance for these dads.
But guess what? False allegations are not just something that is used against fathers, which is what we hear so often. Mothers are being falsely accused as well: of abusing children, of being violent, and of “alienating” their children when the facts show that it is the other parent – with the help of certain custody experts and attorneys – who is behaving badly.
It is simply more profitable for select professionals to introduce and push false allegations. It doesn’t matter to them which parent gets hurt, or worse, that the kids are suffering in all of these cases. Damaging children this way ensures future litigation, and makes it easier for these professionals to collect more in fees from the current case. A good parent falsely accused will be forced to leverage everything they have, including assets from other family members, to deal with the false allegations and to help their children cope.
My Advocate Center does publish much on damages to children, where mothers are the targeted or damaged parent, but the reality is this:
Fathers who are good to their children & who want to do the right thing are JUST as likely to be targeted and undermined by this process – by certain professionals – as are mothers.
We serve as many fathers as we do mothers, because our mission is about helping children access the best that BOTH parents have to offer.
Regardless of whether the mother or the father is put at a disadvantage & penalized for standing up for their kids and their rights, the kids are always harmed.
False allegations are now commonly enabled, and used by certain attorneys and custody experts to increase their profits, and more and more fathers are disadvantaged and damaged this way.
This is something that men often do not see coming. Once they realize what is happening, it is too late, but no one fore-warned them how to protect against it.
“Dysfunctional” comes in all shapes and sizes, as does vindictiveness, addiction & the ill-natured use of children as pawns. We work to help good parents overcome challenges presented in high-conflict situations, and that includes helping good men stay in the lives of their children.
Case studies will be published showing how too many fathers are being set up to fail in child custody disputes. Our case studies will also dispel some myths about which parent is likely to lose the most. Our Executive Director, Deb Beacham, spoke on this in January and will enlist more professionals and parents in the debate starting this Spring.
Dr. Drew explains the need to focus on family court: National premiere, January 9th, Atlanta, Georgia. Join Deb Beacham & other experts to help solve these issues.
Parenting planlegislation requires or permits the parties to a custody dispute to detail how they plan to allocate decision-making and care-giving responsibilities between themselves. In a very small number of states, they are mandatory. In most states that have adopted this kind of legislation, however, they are voluntary.
Several states have enacted parenting plan legislation.
Recognizing that the adversarial approach to allocating parental rights and responsibilities is a burden on the courts, unhealthy for parents, and detrimental to children’s psychological interests and well-being, some states are beginning to explore alternative methods of dealing with custody issues.
Grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are still part of your life. Even if you're living with one parent, you can still see relatives on your other parent's side. You'll always be a part of their lives, even if your parents aren't together anymore.
In 2002, I "successfully" represented
myself for almost 3 years in my divorce and for our son. I became knowledgeable in Family Court litigation and I believed then that in Family Courts all of the lawyers and
Judges were driven to serve Justice and protect
the best interests of my child, family, and
therefore, unconsciously participated in the court proceedings for my daughter Zoraya.
Later on
when my Paternity Suit started in
2008, I learned that these proceedings, the Lawyers and Judges that drive to serve
Justice were nothing short of a swindle.
I have observed countless
families needlessly damaged and financially exploited by this system.
Predictably, my efforts to reform the system were answered by government
retaliation of my civil rights and fundamental human rights causing career damage, intentional and negligent emotional distress, and child abuse upon my daughter. Reported and ignored!!
When families are compelled by law into court for dispute resolution, their members do not realize
how much child-rearing freedoms they surrender to outsiders. The arbitrary
mandate of naming a “custodial parent” begins the damaging
process.
I AM A DEDICATED FATHER WITHOUT COMMISSION OF ANY
CRIME OR UNFIT PARENTING.
Divorce and family law cases sometimes get ugly. And, in ugly
cases, it is not uncommon for one or both of the parties to have a personality
disorder or other mental health condition. Under certain circumstances, a
party's mental health is legitimately relevant to a proper determination
of child custody or alimony. Many times, however, there are
improper motivations for seeking confidential mental health records and
information. Your family law attorneyshould know when this
evidence is subject to discovery.
A party to a divorce or family law proceeding normally has the right to
prevent disclosure of communications or records made for the purpose of
diagnosis or treatment of a mental or emotional condition, including alcoholism
and other drug addiction. See Fla. Stat.
§ 90.503(2). This privilege applies to communications between
a patient and a psychotherapist, or persons who are participating in the
diagnosis or treatment under the direction of the psychotherapist. Id. The term
"psychotherapist" is broadly defined, and includes doctors,
psychologists, therapists, social workers, drug and alcohol abuse counselors,
and nurse practitioners who are engaged primarily in the diagnosis or treatment
of a mental or emotional condition. See Fla. Stat.
§ 90.503(1)(a).
In extreme circumstances, evidence concerning the party's mental health is so
vital to a proper determination of custody that a patient-litigant exception to
the privilege is justified. Id. The rationale for this
exception is that a litigant waives the psychotherapist-patient privilege by
proceeding on a claim for custody where the party's mental condition is an
essential element.
If evidence of mental health is still necessary in a custody case, the
more appropriate method of securing the information is to require an
independent psychological or psychiatric examination of the parent or
parents. Schouw v. Schouw,
593 So. 2d 1200, 1201 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). In this way, the trial
court balances the need to determine the parents' mental health as it relates
to the best interest of the child, and the need to maintain the confidentiality
between a treating psychotherapist and the patient. Id.
In Attorney ad Litem for DK, the court explained its
reasoning:
We recognize the tension apparent in the law between the rights and
responsibilities of parents and the rights of children. Certainly, to promote
strong families, parents should be involved and active in the lives of their
children, including their health care, for which the parents are held
responsible. Unfortunately, sometimes the parents are the cause of abuse, both
emotional and physical, of their children. Allowing parents complete access to
their children's health care records under all circumstances may inhibit the
child from seeking or succeeding in treatment. The tension between the child's
need for confidentiality and privacy to promote healing may conflict with the
need of the court for information to inform its judgment as to the child's best
interest.
See Attorney ad Litem for D.K., 780 So. 2d at 308. Courts have also
held that even a court appointed guardian ad litem for the
child may be excluded from accessing the child's confidential mental health
records.
If you have questions about how mental health issues might affect your
rights in a family law case, contact an experienced Florida family law attorney.
Attorney David Schorr slapped a court-appointed shrink with a
defamation lawsuit for telling the judge deciding a custody battle with
his estranged wife that he was an unfit parent — for refusing to take his son
to the fast food joint for dinner.
