Child Custody for Fathers

Posted by jmr on Dec 17, 2018 in Uncategorized | 0 comments Experienced Lawyer Divorce is hard. Divorce with kids is even harder. As a father facing a custody battle, you will need a support team. Reach out to friends, family and other divorced dads to get support and learn from them about their own custody situation. Additionally, you will need a capable attorney on your side. You may be wondering how difficult it is for a father to get custody and so many other things. Family court judges have the best interests of the children at heart. While they aren’t supposed to discriminate against fathers or mothers based on gender, it can happen. That’s why it’s more important than ever for you to have a competent, knowledgeable attorney on your side. See below for some of the most frequently asked questions by father’s who find themselves in a custody dispute. Can fathers get custody of their children?: Absolutely. Historically there was a perceived bias toward the mother as being a better, more nurturing choice for primary custody, but now in more recent times, it has been much more common for family court judges to award joint custody or, in certain situations, even primary custody to a father. How do the courts decide custody?: Judges weigh a lot of factors in custody decisions. The mandate of family court is to arrange custody in such a way that it meets the best interests of the child, so the child can flourish and grow. Today’s family court judges realize the value of having both parents as involved as possible. What can I do to show I am a good dad?: Be actively involved in your kid’s life. Show up to their sports, know their teachers, attend doctor visits, etc. Remain civil with your ex-wife, do not badmouth her to your kids, friends or family, and keep any interactions positive. If you have a documented history of alcohol, drug, anger issues, etc, get treatment. Judges are more lenient on parents who are making forward progress to fix their vices. Do my kids have a say in which parent they live with?: Judges will often consider a child’s wishes in the quest to find the best situation for the child. Some states laws designate a certain age that children can decide. Speak to a local attorney to learn more about the laws in your state. What if we aren’t married?: Technically, father’s don’t have parental...
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Who Is Responsible When a Self-Driving Car Causes an Accident?

Posted by jmr on Dec 11, 2018 in Uncategorized | 0 comments Experienced Lawyer When drivers find themselves stuck in rush hour traffic or wishing they had time to do something more productive than watching the road, the idea of having a car that drives itself sounds quite amazing. The recent push for self-driving cars is driven both by technology companies and automobile manufacturers, that see a market for vehicles that allow drivers to simply sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Ride-sharing competitors like Uber and Lyft view self-driving cars as a way to maintain fares they now share with drivers. Trucking companies also hope that self-driving technology can save them the cost of paying truck drivers. How long it might take for self-driving cars to carry a significant percentage of the nation’s traffic is anyone’s guess, however, self-driving cars are a reality and are being used. Waymo’s (Google’s first company to focus on self-driving technology) vehicles have logged millions of miles on public roads. The main benefit of using self-driving cars is to reduce traffic accidents. The insurance industry supports self-driving cars for that reason, although whether fewer claims will translate into lower insurance premiums is, once more, anyone’s guess. Self-Driving Car Accidents Self-driving technology is not however, infallible[1]. The Tesla Autopilot (like the Cadillac Super Cruise and the Nissan ProPilot Assist) is not entirely self-driving but keeps the car in its lane to avoid collisions, allowing a driver to take his or her hands off the wheel while continuing to watch the road. Unfortunately, two Tesla drivers were killed while using the system. One car veered off and hit a truck and the other a highway barrier. How to allocate blame between Tesla and the drivers is a difficult question that will likely have to be resolved through litigation. Waymo is blaming a “backup driver” for a collision that took place in California between a self-driving minivan and a motorcycle[2]. The driver took over the operation of the vehicle when it appeared that it was about to hit the motorcyclist. Waymo claims that the self-driving minivan would have avoided the accident if the driver had not taken control of the vehicle, but the accuracy of that claim has not yet been evaluated by regulators. Earlier this year, a self-driving Uber killed a pedestrian in Tempe, Arizona[3]. A “safety driver” was apparently watching a streaming program at the time of the collision and took no action to intervene when...
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