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It is regularly stated that the family is the foundation of society. Whether you grant that to be true or not, one thing that has become abundantly clear is that how society defines family is something that is undergoing significant change.

Experienced family lawyers in Lafayette know that families can become fractured due to divorce. In some cases, the parents were never much of a steady couple, but still have children together. And then there are same-sex couples who establish families through surrogacy, adoption or some other means.

If you think of society as a big ship and all its people as the crew, it can serve as something of a metaphor for how people deal with change. Keeping a ship on course requires everyone fulfilling their expected roles. If someone breaks from the ranks, there can be trouble. Traditions built up over centuries often are the default for keeping things on an even keel.

What that has led to in family law cases where children are involved is a practice that often favors the mother when deciding how to deal with child custody and support issues. A form of gender bias may well exist in the court and what can result is that a father may find his rights to custody and visitation unfairly compromised.

This happens even though there is general recognition that the interests of the children in such situations are best served by fostering conditions that promote solid relationships between the child and both parents whenever possible. The best interests of the child are supposed to always be the court’s primary concern.

The importance of the role of a father in a child’s life is clearly acknowledged by most experts, but ensuring that a father is given every opportunity to exercise that role sometimes requires fighting for parental rights. To maintain or recover your rights, contact an experienced custody rights and support attorney.