Divorce, also known as dissolution of marriage, is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the bonds of matrimony between a married couple under the rule of law of the particular country or state. Divorce laws vary considerably around the world, but in most countries divorce requires the sanction of a court or other authority in a legal process, which may involve issues of distribution of property, child custody, alimony, child visitation / access, parenting time, child support, and division of debt. In most countries, monogamy is required by law, so divorce allows each former partner to marry another person; where polygyny is legal but polyandry is not, divorce allows the woman to marry another person.
Child custody, conservatorship and guardianship are legal terms that are sometimes used to describe the legal and practical relationship between a parent and the parent's child, such as the right of the parent to make decisions for the child, and the parent's duty to care for the child.
The fathers' rights movement is a movement whose members are primarily interested in issues related to family law, including child custody and child support that affect fathers and their children. Many of its members are fathers who desire to share the parenting of their children equally with their children's mothers—either after divorce or as unwed fathers—and the children of the terminated marriage. The movement includes men as well as women, often the second wives of divorced fathers or other family members of men who have had some engagement with family law.
The fathers' rights movement in the United Kingdom consists of a number of diverse pressure groups, ranging from charities and self-help groups to civil disobedience activists in the United Kingdom, who started to obtain wide publicity in 2003. The movement's origin can be traced to 1974 when Families Need Fathers (FNF) was founded. At the local level, many activists spend much time providing support for newly separated fathers, most of whom are highly distraught. Although some have been accused of being sexist by some commentators, these groups also campaign for better treatment for excluded mothers, women in second marriages, other step-parents and grandparents - all of whom suffer discrimination in respect of contact with their (grand) child(ren).
Richard Alan Gardner was an American child psychiatrist known for his work in psychotherapy with children, parental alienation and child custody evaluations. Gardner introduced the term Parental alienation syndrome (PAS). He wrote 41 books and more than 200 professional journal articles and book chapters. He developed child play therapy and test materials which he published through his company Creative Therapeutics. Gardner was an expert witness in child custody cases. Gardner and his work have been both disputed and supported.
Richard A. Warshak is an American clinical and research psychologist and author. He is best known for his expertise on child custody, shared parenting, and parental alienation disputes in the context of divorce. Warshak has written three books, The Custody Revolution, Divorce Poison: Protecting the Parent-Child Bond From a Vindictive Ex, and the revised edition, Divorce Poison: How to Protect Your Family from Bad-mouthing and Brainwashing.
The Family Law Act 1975, referred to as the FLA by legal practitioners, is an Act of the Australian Parliament. It has 15 parts and is the main Australian legislation dealing with divorce, parenting arrangements between separated parents, property separation, and financial maintenance involving children or divorced or separated de facto partners.
The National Parents Organization (NPO) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable and educational organization in the United States that promotes shared parenting and the right of children to have both parents present in their daily life. The organization focuses on family court reform, research and public education with the goal to make shared parenting the general norm in every state. The stated mission of the organization is to improves the lives of children and strengthen society by protecting every child's right to the love and care of both parents after separation or divorce and to seek better lives for children through family court reform that establishes equal rights and responsibilities for fathers and mothers.
The fathers' rights movement has simultaneously evolved in many countries, advocating for shared parenting after divorce or separation, and the right of children and fathers to have close and meaningful relationships. This article provides details about the fathers' rights movement in specific countries.
A gatekeeper parent is a term sometimes utilized in the legal arena to refer to a parent who appoints themself the power to decide what relationship is acceptable between the other parent and the child(ren). The term is broad and may refer to power dynamics within a marriage or may describe the behaviors of divorced or never married parents.
A contact centre is a neutral place where children of separated families can enjoy contact with their non-resident parents and sometimes other family members, in a comfortable and safe environment. Child contact services are classified into two distinct categories, supported and supervised. Its primary role is to support and promote contact between those parents, grandparents, guardians and children that do not have a Residence Order.
Families Need Fathers (FNF), founded in 1974, is a registered charitable social care organization in the United Kingdom that provides information, advice and support to parents whose children's relationship with them is under threat during or after divorce or separation, or who have become alienated or estranged from their children. FNF also advocates for shared parenting, more time for children with their non-custodial parent, and stronger court actions when a custodial parent defies court orders requiring them to allow their children a relationship with the other parent. The organizations goal is that children of divorce or separation should not lose the love and care of one of their parents.
Carol Sophie Bruch is an American legal scholar and professor emerita of the law school at the University of California, Davis. A recognized authority on family marital property law, and private international law, she has influenced and worked on the drafting of family law statutes in California and other US states, and also international agreements. She holds a JD from UC Berkeley School of Law and an AB from Shimer College.
Edward Kruk is a Canadian sociologist and social worker who has performed internationally recognized research on child custody, shared parenting, family mediation, divorced fathers, parental alienation, parental addiction, child protection and, grandparent access to their grandchildren. He is an associate professor of social work at the University of British Columbia. Kruk is the founding president of the International Council on Shared Parenting.
Edwin C. "Ned" Holstein is an American physician and children's rights advocate. He is a founder and chairman of the National Parents Organization, and an advocate for shared parenting as being in the best interest of most children after separation or divorce.
