More divorced fathers and mothers sharing custody in Washington

March 11, 2014 (Press-News.org) More divorced fathers and mothers sharing custody in Washington

Article provided by Madow Law Office
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Single fathers with sole custody of minor children are not the rare breed they once were. According to Pew Research, single fathers make up 8 percent of U.S. households. In 1960, only 1 percent of single fathers cared for minor children. This means that in 2011, the most recent year that data is available, 2.6 million single fathers were doing their best to parent after a divorce or split from the mother. Single mothers are still more common, with 8.6 percent of U.S. households headed by the mother. Whether the mother or father has custody, one trend is clear: more households are headed by a single parent, and the historical notion that single fathers are incapable parents is slowly eroding.

In many states, such as Washington, family law courts are looking more towards joint custody, whereby parenting time is shared as equally as possible between the mother and father. In Washington, this is known as a "shared residential schedule." A 2010 study by the Washington State Center for Court Research found that about 20 percent of cases resulted in an even split in residential parenting time. Research by the state also found that when both parents obtained attorney representation, in 40 percent of cases fathers received more parenting time.

It is still common for divorcing fathers to assume that at best they can receive visitation or custody every other weekend. Now, fathers are eschewing this traditional stereotype. Because much of the time custody matters are agreed to through negotiation, rather by court decree, fathers are more ardently bargaining for the right to care for their children. About 90 percent of parenting plans are agreed to by the parents and subsequently approved by the family law judge.

Unique families, unique solutions

No one solution is appropriate when deciding child custody. Because of job obligations for the parents, family relationships and other matters, it may be impossible to share joint custody. Some families may prefer to have one parent have sole residential custody, whether it is the mother or father, so that a child can remain mostly in one school district, maintain extracurricular activities and not be subject to frequent travel.

As will all states, the court will approve a parenting plan according to what is in the best interest of the child. Depending on the child's age, the child may also have a say in where he or she will live. Parents looking to create a stable, lasting parenting plan that works for all parties involved should contact an experienced family law attorney to discuss their options moving forward.