• 01
  • August
    2011

As most people in Denver know, courts typically favor the mother over the father in child custody cases. But changing family demographics and a recent series of custody decisions across the country in favor of single fathers suggest there may be some changes afoot in the assumptions courts make in child custody arrangements.

Over the past decade, there has been a 27.3 increase in the number of families led by single fathers, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. Single fathers now account for 8 percent of households with children. In 2000, that figure stood at 6.3 percent. And just for comparison's sake, it was as mere 1.1 percent in 1950.

That demographic shift, coupled with a rise in unmarried couples and gradually accumulating acceptance of same-sex couples, seems to be changing presumptions about how children should be raised. It also more common now for mothers to be in the workforce and for fathers to be more involved in their children's lives.

In one example of a single father triumphing in a child custody case, a 59-year-old physician from Fairfield, Connecticut, spent four years finding for primary custody of his son because he felt visitation was not enough. The man had a job, paid his bills and did not have a turbulent social life. He told a reporter he did not understand why the court automatically cast him in the role of underdog.

A University of Notre Dame professor of family law said a father is much more likely to be successful obtaining custody than he would have been 10 years ago.

None of this should be taken to mean that it is easy for fathers to obtain custody of their children. When asking for custody, any parent has a lot to prove to a judge. Working closely with a family law attorney might be a good way for Denver fathers to start the process of working for custody for their children.

Source: Bloomberg, "Single-Dad Courtroom Wins Show Greater Embrace of New Families," Frank Bass and Joel Stonington, 24 July 2011.