What are divorcing parents doing to their kids?

It's becoming more and more evident that many parties to a divorce have little regard for the emotional health and well being of their young kids. Was there anything more painful to see than the face of Sean Goldman as he was being dragged through the media gauntlet in Brazil when finally being returned to his father after 5 years? Do his Brazilian stepfather (supposedly a highly regarded family law attorney himself) and grandparents have any idea of the emotional upheaval that this kid was going through? Unbelieveable.

I recently "fired" one of my clients because of her unreasonable demands about custody and visitation; it didn't matter to her that the kids wanted to be with their dad on a 50/50 basis. There were no allegations that the dad wasn't a fit parent, and the kids were absolutely old enough to know what they wanted (I spoke with them in person). Still, my (former) client wouldn't budge from her position that the kids should only be with dad every other weekend, no time during the week, and only phone calls on Wednesday. And it wasn't a money issue (less time with dad equals more child support to mom); she had plenty of money, more than her ex-husband to be. This was vindictive, nothing more; no regard for the kids' feelings.

While it's our job to represent our clients vigorously, it was clear to me that she had absolutely no concern about the best interests of her kids, and her actions were harmful to them in my opinion. I'm now out of the case, and at last count she's on her 3rd or 4th lawyer.



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Richard L. Leeds, Attorney at Law
18321 Ventura Blvd, Suite 900
Tarzana, CA 91356
(818) 654-1900
Fax: (818)654-1902
Website: Rleedslaw.com