A www.fatherachildsright.org website visitor sent us this letter regarding Shared Parenting in Michigan

Dear Mr. DeRoche,
I am writing you with my request regarding house bill 5267 regarding joint custody of minor children. I think this bill is the first logical, right, fair and needed bill regarding child custody to be available for the house to consider. My reasons are very personal as my son had a child born with a young woman and they decided not to marry. They both wanted to raise this boy and both hired very expensive lawyers to try and prove themselves the most fit parent to raise the child. It cause much grief for both families. During the waiting periods, it became clear to them that they were being manipulated by their attorneys (both who wanted the child for their client and really didn't care what was in the best interest of the child). Many things were said in court that had been misinterpreted or misstated by lawyers. My son and his friend decided they could decide themselves what would be best. Yes they bickered for awhile, but then they seriously realized that their boy needed his mom and his dad. They went to court and asked that he be awarded to both parents, and the judge was happy to assign both joint legal and physical custody. This has been the case for thirteen years now. My grandson has two families that love him dearly. He has four parents that adore him and they are able to be together for everything that involves their son, sports, school, special events. They split holidays and they work around their schedules to accommodate each others family events (birthdays, etc.) It is so wonderful knowing that my grandson does not have the stress of missing a parent, or parents fighting over time with him. Every parent should be able to raise their child. The court can help these kids by making joint custody the first priority in custody disputes. Parents learn how to communicate with each other if they truly have the childs best interest at hand. Needless to say, in the case of abusive parents, the courts should be able to change the custody arrangements, but I truly believe that the joint custody of my grandchild has opened my eyes to the necessity of changing the system that leans so much towards Mom raising the child and Daddy getting to visit his child. It isn't normal and it isn't right to continue in this manner. Please support this bill and encourage the other representatives to do the same. Thank you for considering my request. Linda - A Michigan Voter

Robert Pedersen
http://www.squidoo.com/fatherachildsright