It is evident that the enforcement of child support and visitation are treated separately in the civil system, according to Cordell & Cordell Principal Partner Joseph Cordell’s latest Huffington Post divorce column.
The law is quick and severe when child support is not paid but is largely toothless when a father is denied access to his children.
The disparity between enforcement of failing to pay child support and custodial interference is particularly calamitous for fathers, who represent 87.1 percent of child support payers and 82.6 percent of noncustodial parents, according to the U.S. Census.
“Much is made of the offensive moniker ‘deadbeat dads’ and the histrionic punishments doled out by zealous judges,” Mr. Cordell writes. “However, throughout my 20+ years with Cordell & Cordell advocating for fathers’ rights, it is apparent the more pertinent story is the paucity of attention, much less innovation, given the reciprocal problem relating to primary custodians that defy court orders respecting the other parent’s access and participation in children’s lives.”
Read the full column on HuffingtonPost.com: “Disparity Between Child Support and Custody Enforcement.”
Written by Joseph E. Cordell
Joseph E. Cordell is the Principal Partner at Cordell and Cordell, P.C., which he founded in 1990 with his wife, Yvonne. Over the past 25 years, the firm has grown to include more than 100 offices in 30 states, as well as internationally in the United Kingdom. Mr. Cordell is licensed to practice in the states of Illinois and Missouri and received his LL.M. from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Joseph E. Cordell was named one of the Top 10 Best Family Law Attorneys for Client Satisfaction in Missouri.
