Kentucky and Arizona are leaders

Kentucky in the US has most recently created a family law with the presumption of shared parenting and equal parenting time being in the best interest of the child. The family courts also is required to consider the motiviation of the parents, when determining the best interest of the child. 

The people of Kentucky expressed their overwhelming support for the new legislation by a factor of 6 to 1. The law was called the most popular law of the year. 

Most recently, the Kentucky court administration now has issued a report that the law is as effective as it is popular.

In July 2017, Kentucky implemented the first part of the new legislation on shared parenting and equal parenting time. The following July, all legislation went into effect. At the same time, the legislation introduced that the motivation for parents to create conflicts should be assessed in court.

In other words, Kentucky began treating all children and parents equal as a basic assumption and rewarding good parental behavior to create good parental behavior in family matters.

Positive results

The new legislation and practice meant that the family court cases dropped. At the same time as the population continued to rise and there were no further changes in family law.

The positive results are noteworthy, for Kentucky previously experienced an increase in the number of family law cases before the courts, as well as domestic violence cases. The increase was expected due to general population growth, but in early July 2017 the increase suddenly stopped. The number of cases in family law as well as domestic violence began to decline.

The year before the new legislation, 22,512 family law cases were filed. That figure dropped to 21,847 in the year that equal legislation began. When the entire law went into effect, the number of new cases dropped to 19,991. In other words, Kentucky's families in the first stages alone filed 11% fewer cases in family law despite a population growth. At the same time more children experienced love and care of both parents equally.

Kentucky had actually expanded its definition of domestic violence and the state was beginning to do a much broader form of reporting. However, the upward trend in domestic violence, population growth, broader definitions and stronger reporting criteria, all of which would increase one's expectation of domestic violence, were less powerful than the effect of shared parenting and equal parenting time for the children with both parents. 

Common sense

The new shared parenting law is common sense. 

Shared parenting and equal parenting time for children with both parents is giving fewer family conflicts and more love and care for the children based on more quality time as a whole. There are simply far fewer disputes between the parents. 

The law already today helps the authorities and children in Kentucky. Because when the children have more love and care with both parents, the parents have fewer conflicts and fewer litigation, the state has fewer cases to deal with. It gives family courts more time to focus on the more difficult cases.

Taxpayers pay less for fewer cases in court and parents have less and less legal expenses. The children simply get more love and  care, faster love and care and better love and care - with more happy parents.

The message is clear. If we begins with discrimination of children and children's parents in relation to family forms, residence, parenting time and gender. We will never create a success.

So... 

Who will be the next?

More than 20 states in the United States are looking into the popular shared parenting legislation. The state of Arizona actually came before Kentucky and already has similar legislation today.

In the Nordic countries shared parenting is the norm in society, but in most countries we are still living in a shared parenting world with single parenting law. 

The only way for success in modern society is to use shared parenting and equal parenting time for children as the presumption in family law - in the best interest of the child. 

Kentucky and Arizona are leaders.


References: