Taking Custody Into Their Own Hands

There is no question that divorce is difficult on all parties, including the parents. There are many times that a parent is fearful about facing a Judge and what their ruling may be with respect to custody of the children. Unfortunately, we are still hearing about mothers or fathers who take it upon themselves to "escape" with their children in an effort to deprive one parent from having any contact with the children. There is no justification for such actions, given the fact that our judicial system, more often than not, rightfully denies contact when a parent will put a child's welfare in danger. When a child is forced from their home and is wrongfully denied contact with a parent based on the other parent's wishes, everyone suffers. While our society has sympathy for those people who take the law into their own hands, there should be no tolerance for it. Generally speaking, a child should be allowed contact with their parent and should be given the option as to whether they want to form a relationship with both of their parents, regardless of the wishes of the parents. More often than not, the desire to keep a child away from a parent has more to do with unsubstantiated fears and marital issues, than it does with the actual well being of a child.