Letter: Family Court spurs lawyers to exploit families

Friday, Dec. 10, 2004 | 9:08 a.m.

Domestic violence will continue, as will the request for protective orders, until the Family Court system is reformed and recognizes equal protection under the law.

A court that was supposed to be set up as "non-adversarial" instead is a feeding ground for divorce attorneys who routinely encourage one parent to destroy the other, rather than share parenting as Nevada law clearly states.

Family Court condones this by "awarding custody," usually to the mother and then turning the father into a visitor and financial slave. The outcome is well-known and logical; angry, frustrated and bankrupt parents who are unable to raise their children as they once intended. The end result often is domestic violence in families, and wealthy divorce attorneys.

Both parents have a right to raise their children equally and they also have a right be able to provide a home for themselves. Joint physical custody would end much of the insanity in these cases.

When custody is fair and the financial incentive to destroy noncustodial parents is removed, divorcing families might have a chance. But then, what would divorce attorneys do? They would have to get real jobs and work for a living rather than exploiting and victimizing families.

ALAN R. DICICCO Editor's note: The writer is founder and president of the Coalition for Family Court Reform.