A recent article in Working Mother Magazine details the difficulties of working mothers married to stay-at-home dads who divorce. More and more often, the stay-at-home-dad, who has been the primary caregiver, is getting custody and working moms have to pay child and spousal support. The trend reveals a startling shift.
"Men are now able to argue that they spend more time with the kids than their working wives do," says veteran New York City divorce attorney Raoul Felder. "This is one of the dark sides of women's accomplishments in the workplace--they're getting a raw deal in custody cases, while men are being viewed more favorably."
Those who are part of the fathers' rights movement see this is a step in the right direction. Gender should not be as important in determining custody as who has the role of primary caregiver and to whom the children should look for both emotional and financial support.
Always, the decision made on custody should be based on what is best for the children. As traditional gender roles shift between mothers as caregivers and men as providers, the world of family law is finally seeming to be shifting with them