Joseph Cordell Writes About Fathers Rights Movement For Huffington Post

rights for fathersThe Huffington Post, one of the world’s most visited websites, has turned to DadsDivorce.com founder Joseph Cordell to be its voice on the struggles men and fathers face in family law courts.

In his first of a series of columns, Cordell writes on HuffingtonPost.com about the unlevel playing field facing divorced dads in the family law system.

He explains how after 20 years of experience spent with Cordell & Cordell representing men in domestic relations matters, he couldn’t help but notice the challenges consistently facing one side of the table–the guy’s side.

“The father’s rights movement isn’t an anti-mom or anti-woman movement; it’s an anti-unfairness movement,” Cordell writes. “It just so happens that moms have most of the power in the family court system in America.”

Cordell shared one example of the bias men face in court: the well-paid, highly successful wife married to an unemployed man who is now a stay-at-home dad.

Most judges would see the situation and say, “Why doesn’t this guy go out and get a job?”

But if you flip the roles and it is the husband making all the money and the wife stays at home as the primary caretaker, then believe the woman is performing a perfectly legitimate role as a stay-at-home mom.

“So a dad has to struggle to prove he is not guilty of being a deadbeat, but the same is not true when the situation is reversed,” Cordell writes.

Read the full Huffington Post article “Is The Playing Field Level For Men In The Family Court System?

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3 comments on “Joseph Cordell Writes About Fathers Rights Movement For Huffington Post

    frustrated dad…fathers rights
    A Fathers Fight GOOSE CREEK, SC
    I am writing about an injustice that happened to a father of five kids by the ‘justice system”. Two years ago, I got divorced and was placed on child support for my kids who I have always supported and been in their lives raising them. I lost my job of over ten years in April, and I could no longer afford the thousand dollar child support let alone support my new blended family. I called to report my change of circumstance with child support office and was awaiting a phone call back from the case worker and I was issued a summons by the court for contempt of the child support order. I went to court where they did not allow me to speak as to my situation and they threw me in jail for 1650.00 of child support which is not even two months behind of child support. I am ordered to pay that amount or sixty days in jail, my family does not have money, I lost my job, my wife and kids are going to be homeless and I am in jail now unable to get a job to pay for child support or take care of my family. Please help this injustice, its not right there are men getting locked up in America and many are trying to do right by their kids. Please stop this. I need to get out and I need to get representation. I thank you and God bless you and your families.

    Love from a far
    @ AdamG. Hey I just read your post and I must say we share something in common. We both have a daughter and we both got kicked when we’re down by the judicial system. My recent visit with my daughter was horrible. Usually my daughter within the first couple days of the visit has to vomit out all her anger towards me. Nothing unusual because this has been the trend for the past 10 years. After the first couple days she’s back to my daughter again but this last visit took the cake. While she’s yelling and throwing down furniture, she reveals (this we recorded too) that her mother let’s her listen in on all the telephone conversations, allows her to read all the emails and texts because get this “Since it involves her she has every right to know”. After the blowup she was back to normal but this confirms how this mother has had a direct influence on parent alienation. I told my daughter I would not respond or debate any topics that I know were only discussed between me and her mother. It’s become too exhausting (the past 10 years) that in order to keep my sanity I’ve had to emotionally resign from my daughter and no longer push to have a relationship so must love her from afar.

    I have a court date coming up in September and get this. Mother wants to modify court order visitation schedule and minimize the amount of time I get with my daughter and has even added to her petition a letter she encouraged my daughter to write.

    My ex knows how to work the system to maximize her revenue opportunity. She has worked part time for the past 6 years. She upped her income by adding “$2,300” as additional contribution from her parents so that our combined income would net more monthly pay. The state was going to accept this even without any proof until I raised the issue. Also as standard practice, they annualized her income as though she’s working full time. What this also does is increase the monthly income and puts more weight on me in terms of my support obligation. So in a sense, I’m having to pay extra because my ex gets credit for working full time when in fact she doesn’t. The state of Arizona does not consider all the circumstances.

    Oh here’s another one. Even though I showed the state and court system the child support direct payments to my ex’s account (in the amount of support) she claimed they were “gifts” and I now find myself in the arrears $41k. She gave me credit for some but it was better for her to take the position of the remaining $41k being a gift. Even though I had bank statements showing payments into her account the state accepted her statement. We divorced in 2002 and in 2010 child support payments suddenly became an issue. I wish I had been instructed by my attorney in 2002 the ramification of not paying direct through the state system..Ughhhhh. It’s all been too much

    Unfair Treatment
    Very very good article, and sadly true. I am a single dad never married paying an obscene amount of child support for my daughter whom now resides in another state because her mother moved her there, I haven’t seen or spoken to my daughter in over a year because her mother refuses to let me, and the court system does nothing about it, but yet hammers me with over 800.00$ in child support a month for my daughter.
    I’ve spend thousands of dollars fighting for child support modification and shared custody to which every single time have failed. I’ve been looked down on in court and been kicked when I’m down by the State and the judge. All I’ve ever wanted is a relationship with my daughter and raise her to be smart and educated and an all around happy person, and the court system have taken that away… brutally.
    Now I see why most men either skip the state, leave the country and worst of all end their own lives because the system breaks you down little by little by little till you have nothing left to give or lose.
    I’m still fighting to this day, I have no choice if I want to see my little girl again, but this article was a pleasure to read and bless you guys for saying something for us men who have very little hope left.

    Keep up the great work!

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