I have several proposed reforms to help our family courts protect children and parents better:
Custody Restrictions for Cases with Domestic Violence and Stalking Restraining Orders
If there is a long term restraining order (not a temporary order) from one parent against the other parent, the parents will follow a parallel parenting plan.
Custody Restrictions in Domestic Violence Cases with Injury
In domestic violence cases where one parent has physically harmed the other, the parent who has physically harmed the other parent may not have sole physical, sole legal, joint physical or joint legal custody for a space of at least two years. The harming parent may have supervised visitation at a neutral, third party location with a professional visit supervisor during this time. At the end of the two year period, the harming parent may petition the court to change the custody or visitation schedule if s/he meets all of the following criteria:
Has submitted to monthly tests for drug and/or alcohol abuse and all tests and all the tests have been clean for 24 consecutive months.
Has submitted to a psychological evaluation and psychiatric screening for mood and personality disorders
Has not had any new arrests or new criminal convictions, new restraining orders against him or her, any restraining order violations or any parole violations for twenty four consecutive months
Has been compliant with all prescribed or ordered substance abuse and psychiatric treatment for twenty four consecutive months.
What this might look like:
More Use and Consideration of Psychological Evaluations
If the parents do not come to a plan in child custody recommending counseling, each parent will submit to a psychological evaluation and a psychiatric assessment for mood and personality disorders. Fees for the psychological evaluation will be charged on a sliding scale based on income. If one parent shows a clear mental and emotional stability over the other, that parent shall be given preference for physical and legal custody. If both parents are demonstrably emotionally and mentally stable based on the results, the court can order them to co parenting classes. If both parents are mentally and emotionally unstable, the court can order them to submit to treatment and place a parallel parenting plan.
What this would look like:
Josh believes that Brittany is a threat to him and the children even though she never contacts him without a reason, is generally civil to him and has no history of violence. Josh believes that he needs to save the children from Brittany and that she is dangerous though she has been the children's primary caretaker and Josh has had trouble taking care of his own basic needs. He sends her long interrogating and harassing emails and messages. Brittany is concerned over Josh's erratic and controlling behavior and believes that the children are safer with her. Brittany and Josh both submit to psychological evaluations after they don't come up with a plan in child custody recommending counseling. The evaluations show that Brittany is mentally and emotionally stable but that Josh has borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder. Brittany gets full physical and legal custody of the children and Josh has 1st, 3rd and 4th weekends throughout the whole year and a weekly Wednesday visit from 9-5 during the summer. Josh and Brittany alternate first and second halves of Christmas, Thanksgiving, Spring and Fall breaksThree or four day weekends go to whichever parent would have had them. The judge can order Josh to seek treatment for his psychiatric issues and to follow all treatment.
Parents must provide proof of housing accommodations and income in Divorce Filing or Response
Parents seeking custody of minor children must submit three months of proof of residential address and income along with their most recent tax return with their divorce filing or response. Every three months for the duration of the divorce, the parents must send in two proofs of residential address and two proofs of income. Parents must submit their tax return to the court annually. If a parent cannot provide two proofs of residential address and income, then the parent may provide one, but it will be noted that the proof is incomplete. Parents who fail to file any proof of income or residential address will be regarded as having no income or residential address.
What this might look like:
Gwen and Bryan have no history of abuse, but Gwen behaves erratically and frequently cheats on Bryan. One day Gwen leaves Bryan, takes the kids and moves into a motel. She has been fired or quit from several jobs and is currently unemployed. When she files for divorce, she files her motel reservation as proof of address and submits her joint checking account statement and the pay stubs from her last job, even though she quit two months ago and only has four pay stubs from the job. In his response, Bryan files the mortgage papers from their home, three months of utility bill proofs, their joint checking account pages and his pay stubs from the last three months at his job. The scenario can go two ways here:
Bryan and Gwen work out a custody schedule and parenting agreement together and submit it to the court and the court enacts it as an order.
Or
Gwen believes that she should have full physical and legal custody and Bryan believes he should have full physical custody, and is open to joint legal custody. They can't reach an agreement in child custody recommending counseling. They go through the psychological evaluations and psychiatric assessments and the results show that Bryan has some anxiety issues, but is overall mentally and emotionally stable and that Gwen has borderline personality disorder. Bryan receives full physical custody and they have joint legal custody with Bryan having tie breaking authority. Gwen gets 1st, 3rd and 4th weekends and she and Bryan share holidays. For summer, the weekend schedule continues but Gwen gets Wednesdays from 9 AM to 6 PM each week as well. Gwen must provide proof of accommodations for the children (like reservation receipts or an witnessed affidavit from a relative that she will be staying there on the dates of her weekend or Bryan over their co parenting app by 6 PM Thursday night if she wants to have the children over night during her weekends. If she can't provide proof, she can have the children from the end of school until 6 PM on Friday night and from 9 AM to 6 PM on Saturday and Sunday. Any holidays that she does not have proof of accommodations for will follow the 9 AM to 6PM schedule for each day of the holiday or break or from the end of school until 6 PM if she gets to pick the children up from school. Bryan gets tie breaking authority on decisions.
It might also look like this:
Elizabeth leaves her abusive husband, Rodney, and takes their children with her. Without a job at first, she initially moves in with a friend for a month. During this time, she gets a job and starts working. She then starts living in a vacation rental for a couple of months. When she files for divorce, she submits a notarized statement from her friend stating the dates she was living there and the receipts from the vacation rental she stayed in. A couple of months later, she moves into an apartment. Because she has changed her address, she submits her proofs of her new residential address by submitting a copy of her rental contract and a copy of her first two water bills.
Annual training in domestic violence, abuse and mental health issues for judges, mediators, custody evaluators and others involved in family court cases
Court ordered co parenting classes must be reviewed by a board
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