Equality

Parents should be equal from the begining. When a woman leaves a man she will generally take the kids with her against the wishes of the man. If a man did this he would be arrested for kidnapping. In most states an unmarried man is not the legal father of his own child until a judge rules as such. The woman can take the child away and there is nothing the father can do , initially. When a man does fight for 'rights' to his child it's a lengthy process with little hope of equality in the interim or the final ruling.

Women are given a great power and responsibility when they are the sole parent. The state expects that they will look out for the childs best interests when in fact it is usually their own greed or want that trumps reason. If men were given this power I'm not sure they would act any different unless they had their child ripped from them, powerless to do anything longing to see their little one.

In my opinion money is to blame for the debacle we call family court [in regards to custody]. Lawyers are paid to represent their client, court fees are assessed and fines handed down in most custody cases, all with the same result, the mother gets custody and the man pays for it.

Society needs to get away from this advisorial style of conflict resolution and make parents come together for the good od the children. The state teats these cases as though they are the parent and they know what best for their children. If there was accountability for your decisions then I believe parents would be forced into the best interest, not of themselves but In the best interest of their children.

Every circumstance is different so I fail to see how the end result is always the same; and how it always is applied so unequal.