Do couples who have broken up always act in the best interests of their kids? Is the family court always fair in their decisions? The answer is a definite no. Breaking up or divorce really brings out the worst in some people. Unfortunately, the kids are the ones who will suffer the most.

I think that the family law needs upgrading, just because one is a mum does not mean that she is best to look after the kids, some men are better parents than mothers,

Depends on how grovelling the man might be. My ex stated when asked by the magistrate was he incapable of providing for his children said my wife was the breadwinner. I only worked because he was too lazy to do so.

Absolutely !! Should be equal rights !!

Didn't someone once say "the law is an ass"? A very simple statement but there is no simple solution when it comes to broken families. Everyone gets battle fatigue going through the process and children get more and more confused by the to and fro state of affairs and sometimes even thinking that they are the cause of it all.

As a man who has gone through the Family Court divorce process I can only heap praise on the process and judges. Admittedly I had a female barrister who showed the judges how ridiculous my wife's claims were and the judge agreed. I had full access to my children and do so still

My suggestion is not to go to the court. They have no time and they really can't decide what is the best for your kids. If you can't get and share your kids, leave them to your ex wife. Your kids will come back to you if they are not happy.

my experience suggests that there appeared to be a bias in favour of women in the Family Court in Australia probably because that Court had to balance facts, opinions and the apparent best interests of any issue from the relationship. That court was always contentious but just wait until the conservative government gets it's way and sends all family matters to the federal Magistrates Courts t

No. My dad got full custody of us and I was only 2 years old at the time. That was 43 years ago. So yeah no. I don’t think so.

Each case should be tried on its own merits. However, women tend to get custody more often. But this has slowly been changing.

It all depends on circumstances

Every case needs to assessed thoroughly and nothing generalized.

It's a complex problem, and I don't see any easy answers.

What I don't approve under this is parents using kids as weapons against one another.

No I don't.

Seems to be that way at times but think the situation should be investigated properly before making a judgement. Anger issues should be treated at school how to be handled & you don't hit anyone. This may help with the Domestic Violence, both female & male have problems.

Most deinatly

Don't really know who should or should not be awarded the custody of the kids but maybe the dad's should have the boy's as so that they can grow up to be good men but then that depends upon if the fathers them selves are good men. And mum's should get the girls as to teacher them to be good girlfriends, wife's or mother's at some stage of their lives.

Yes it is.time for overhaul of "justice" system!!!!

Some Women had their men do it to them as well!

Know of a few suicides no one wins

It was a difficult matter but to be honest I just wanted what would be best for the kids. The best was that they stay with me.

yes i have known friends who committed suicide because of the family law court they lost everything mostly there children and had no reason to go on it needs to change

I think some men think the grass is greener on the other side and they walk away from responsibilities don't bother with seeing the kids no maintenance Money birthday Xmas presents ..will start a new family or play dad to someone else's kids sad for his own kids because despite what parents feel towards each other shouldn't be the kids that get penalized and miss out but happens in many cases

I know of a lot of women that only wanted Children so the Government would pay to House and feed them and they don't have to work. One guy we know had to go and work in Australia driving long haul trucks to pay off debt, sent the money back to NZ to his wife to pay it off came home to find she hadn't paid a cent and the money has disapeared and it hasn't gone on the kids, they need new shoes, their paternal grandmother asked what they had for dinner and the reply was only weetbix!!, of course there are bad Fathers as well but not all of them, I was always told what a cheating B my Father was only to learn many years later that Mum was far worse, while Dad was away fighting in the war Mum was home sleeping with all and sundry and my oldest brother was a result of that.

I can't really comment on this as I have been happily married for over 60 years, but I can understand what is being said. I think sometimes the Family Court is not working towards the best interest of the child/children & that's where sometimes conflict arises.

It sure is, a man can work his butt off only for a bludging, cheating wife takes most of it and the bloke has to slave all day just to pay for her to live in luxury.

I know from my father who never paid money to support her or us. She worked hard to raise us and give us a good up bring not my father. He loved money more than us. If a woman was seen as unfit then the father if seen fit should raise the children. What ever is safest for the children and they are not harmed by any one or defacto's that might come along later.

My grandson is currently going through the process of getting his son. In fact the mother and her parents kept the son away from his father for nine months, no matter how he tried to get visitation with his son the mother would not come into it at all. Only until he went to a solicitor and is paying a lot of money she has allowed him to see is son on a Saturday at her home for two hours where she lives with her parents and it is extremely uncomfortable. So it is going to court and he is fighting for full custody. I am behind him 100% she is not fit mentally to take care of that little boy.

i have never been in this situation so i cant comment

is family court biased in the favor of women - yes - will the status quo change - no - conflict between parents (on the road to divorce from the very beginning of their marriage) is inevitable -- but it doesn't have to hurt their kid(s) - will it hurt their kid(s) - yes - during a custodial fight - the (kid(s)) - is seen as property - it is NEVER about what is BEST for their (kid(s) - but I am speaking from the perspective of watching my parents engaged in a bitter, nasty, legal fight custodial fight over me - neither one of parents really wanted me (however, my mother won the bitter, nasty, legal fight - and got generous child support (generous for the mid 1950s and early 1960s)) - which my father paid every month - until I became a runaway.Edited 18-May-21 12:45pm

Oh Boy there's some "Zing" in that one, Zing! - But I do feel the system is weighted in favour of females - but then you'd expect me to say that wouldn't you girls...as I am a male!

Yes I do feel that there is a bias toward women - perhaps only slightly - but definitely there.

No the court isn’t biased. Mostly the children are better off with the mother. If there is a civilised separation the father is kept in the loop. However, so many times there has been a problem. Violence or implied violence has reared its ugly head. Yes I understand that there are some women who deny access and manipulate the situation and I deplore that. But a marriage usually breaks up because one partner is stepping out of line. Mediation frequently doesn’t resolve the issues. Unfortunately the children’s needs are last on the list. Each case has to be looked at on its merits

I agree the family court do favour the mothers. I am really getting sick of the rights of women. It is political correctness gone mad. Me do not seem to have a say any more. I am a woman and I feel for those men treated unjustly

I heard terrible years of struggle from a friend many years ago. Her daughter was married to a gangster who molested their two years old biological son as well as physically abused the poor child. The woman received death threats if she tried to leave the man or divorced. My friend called the police but every time she was told if the mother didn't come out to testify, there would be 'no case' for the police. My friend tried to apply legal custodianship or guardianship to protect her grandson but the court dismissed her case because the mother didn't come out. Years of stresses taken toll on her health (physically, mentally and emotionally). Sad. The family law is very draconian, only recognise 'direct' family relation to parents but when both fail, the children are just left in hell. US law may be better in some sense (though still not perfect and have many problems) that at least the state will take away the children if both parents fail. Then the child will be put to foster parents or adopted parents. I think other extended family members should be accepted by the family law.

to helen a i think you are being a little harsh on zing. yes there are men who abuse there wives and children and we all hear about them, but what about the women who attack their men and hit their children which you dont hear about and then lie so they can get custody. i think you will find that just because women carry the children that does not automatically give them the right to keep them, so yes i agree that the courts are sometimes biased in favour of women.

The Family Court is Totally Biased agauinst men. Time and again this farce awards custody of the children to the female parent and also gave her the house, furniture - in fact everything plus a hunk of the man's income - don't get me wrong for the man should pay for half the cost of rearing the children - One friend as part of a privately arranged, Legal, Settlement gave her $250,000.00, and paid half of the children's expenses. At the time that $250k was a very large amount of money - money he had to borrow. That wasn't enough! She took him to the Family Court and it took everything he had, They owned two very similar sized houses in the same area so we thought they might have a house each, Not so! She got one and he had to sell the other and give her half the proceeds. The streaa was too much for him. When they married he already owned the house they lived in, his wife had no property but she walked away with almost everything. There is something very wrong with the way the Family Court operates and it should be reformed with clear guidelines, Rules so that this sort of biased, misandrist behaviour by the Court cannot continue.

Hi Zing! Debatable, my nephew has had sole custody of his four year old daughter for a year. Both parents weren't very 'good', partied, argued a lot, she rung the police often on him and he was arrested every time with marks on his body and face to show she attacked him and she had nothing. But he improved his situation hence winning custody. I also have a good male friend who was beaten by his partner yet he wouldn't lay a hand on her, leaves and she ALWAYS finds where he is. So I believe there is biased regarding domestic abuse and the male is the victim. But regarding family law it's more to do with who is the more dependable and stable parent. Women will study the law more to improve their case and come across very emotional, they also feel scorned so will do anything in their power to make their ex partner's life a misery!

It is aimed more to the women that the men. I lost everything when my marriage when belly up. (over 20 years ago). To have access to my kids I needed to rent a two bedroom unit to have my kids stay so I could not flat or get someone to shear the costs. If I took the kids away my ex would not help with some of the costs. This cause a lot of mental heath issues along with a medical condition I have. I ended up losing my job, and even on the sickness benefit I still had to pay child support. And when I had my kids every weekend I still could not get any help with costs because it was not longer enough to qualify for any help. So yes the male is treaded badly out there. It was only once my children's left school and stopped paying child support things are slowly coming right but I still will never recover for this.