Sunday, April 17, 2016

Why Child Custody And Alimony Reform Should Not Be Mixed

Florida Governor Rick Scott vetoed an alimony reform bill on Friday due to concerns over a child custody provision. Scott very likely would have signed the bill if it had only dealt with alimony reform.

The proposed Florida bill would have directed judges to presume joint parenting was best for children before considering the specific details of the case. While this is eminently reasonable, it has nothing to do with alimony reform.
Alimony reform, which has wide support in Florida, was killed because a child custody provision was tacked onto it
Although you can certainly argue that child custody may need reform in Florida, the issue is far less detrimental to children than unjust alimony awards. And making alimony awards more just actually helps with custody issues.

In my case, I am pretty well convinced that the only reason Spring tried to get sole custody of the children was because she thought it would get her more money. In the end, the Court's joint custody ruling ending up being little different than if I had been awarded sole custody. Alimony reform removes one of, if not the primary, reason people fight over custody.

Minnesota Alimony Reform is quite rightly focused solely on alimony reform.

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