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| Parenthood |
| Mom v. Dad |
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Who's rights trump? Whether they are together or separated, parents are expected to make joint decisions for and about their children. How do you settle parental disagreements and where do the children fit in? |
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Cases Concerning Conflict:
- Felton v. Felton, 383 Mass. 232, 233, 418 N.E.2d 606 (1981), the court addressed the question of accommodating diverse religious practices of parents, living apart, in
the upbringing of minor children. The court held that the overriding goal in any such inquiry is to serve the best interests of the children even where "the attainment of
that purpose . . . involve[s] some limitation of the liberties of one or other of the parents." The judge found it substantially damaging to the children to leave each parent free to expose the children, as he or she wishes, to his or her religion and placed appropriate restrictions on each party.
- In re STEPHENIE R.N., 197 Wis. 2d 117 Court found that conflict could be lessened by awarding joint custody of a child and then settling other decisions through a mediator.
- Slavick v. Slavick, 2000 Conn. Super. LEXIS 2015 After
considering all of the facts on record, the court found that, in considering only the two parents as the custodial choices, it was in the best interests of the two minor children to grant sole custody to defendant. Because of the lack of trust and inability of the parties to communicate effectively, there was a necessity for an ironclad specific schedule of visitation that was not vulnerable to manipulation by either party. | |
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Bibliography
*Dowd, Nancy. (2000). Redefining Fatherhood. New York: New York University Press
*Franks, Maurice R. (1983). Winning Custody. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc.
*Greif, Geoffrey L., and Pabst, Mary S. (1988). Mother's Without Custody. D.C. Heath and Company
*Krause, Harry D. (1971). Illegitimacy: Law and Social Policy. The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc.
*Brenner, E. and Horn, Wade, F. (1996). Seven Things States Can Do to Promote Responsible Fatherhood.
*O'Neill, Onora and Ruddick, William, eds. (1979). Having Children: An Anthology from the Society for Philosophy and Public Affairs. Oxford University Press, Inc.
*Ontario Law Reform Commission. (1985). Report on Human Artificial Reproduction and Related Matters.
*Whitehead, John W. (1985). Parents' Rights. Illinois: Good News Publishers
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