Children as contracts
A legal boost for noncustodial parents
In California, a gain for fathers' rights may ripple out nationwide.
By Mark Sappenfield | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
OAKLAND, CALIF. – A decision by the California Supreme Court is setting the stage for a national shift on one of the most contentious areas of divorce law. By keeping a mother from moving to Ohio with her children against the father's will, the court is sending legal tremors across the US.
Eight years ago, a California Supreme Court decision gave custodial parents - who are overwhelmingly mothers - broad powers to move as they wished, and it became the basis for many other states' laws. Now, the same court has moderated its stance, giving noncustodial parents more of a legal voice in the process, and suggesting that its initial ruling had been misapplied.
