Children's Rights to Both Parents
Donation protected
Update: As of October 2015, I share physical and legal custody of my children as a de facto parent. The process is ongoing and I will be back in court on April 5, 2016 on a full parentage appeal(opposed to de facto parent)
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My name is Karen and I am seeking financial assistance towards costs associated in my quest for shared legal and physical custody of my children, ages 7 and 4. Currently, I am permitted to see my children fewer than 7 days a month, have temporarily been denied legal rights and I have been ordered to pay child support, which I have been doing willingly for a year and a half. Due to the fees related to obtaining justice for our children, I am concerned that someday they will have to ask me “Mommy, why did you give up on us?" No child should ever be put in a position to ask such a question, so I hope to resolve this costly and distressful circumstance respectfully through the family court system.
Your support will assist toward allowing our children the opportunity to recieve the love and emotional support they deserve from both their mothers.
Further background: My partner and I were in a relationship for 13 years, and during that time we welcomed a daughter and a son. Since then, I have been called “Mommy” and my former partner has been “Mama,” names chosen by our daughter. Due to laws of the state where we lived for most of our relationship, we weren't allowed to marry and co-adoption wasn't an option state-wide. Even so, we raised our children together as any nurturing family would, including play dates, enrollment in school, family vacations, doctor’s visits, swimming lessons, and family dinners. We were a family in every sense of the word.
Approximately a year after we moved to Massachusetts, our relationship ended. Since that time, my former partner, “Mama”, has stated she has been our children’s only parent. Since I have no biological connection to our children, there is no clear legal provision or protection of our children’s rights for equal contact with both mothers. I certainly do not object to supporting my children financially but I sincerely believe our children should be allowed equal access to both of their mothers. The legislative obstacle is that non-biological mothers can be ordered to pay child support "to protect the psychological and emotional well-being of the child." However, existing legislation does not allow the child equal access to both mothers, which seems to contradict the intent of “protecting the psychological and emotional well-being of the child”.
Over a year and a half of legal fees has exhausted my financial resources, and my quest is nowhere close to being resolved. I am determined to do whatever possible to restore the rights of our children and to recover my role as an equal parent. This legal situation is also to ensure the law is consistent with today’s society and science to reflect the reality that a “legal parent” is not strictly a matter of biology.
I am requesting any financial support you might be able to offer. If you are able, please donate to help cover the ongoing costs associated with this ordeal.
Thank you for caring, for sharing my story, and for doing whatever you can to help our children to have a happy life with both their moms.
~~~Karen
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I am not a charitable organization. Donating to my legal fund is strictly a gift and can not be used as a tax deduction.
View my facebook page
Children's Rights Council: The Best Parent is Both Parents. How We Wish To Be Treated By Our Parents
On Jan. 2, 2015, the Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass., published the op-ed “Remove obstacles to shared parenting” by Ned Holstein, MD, MS.
This page is intended to support my cause only. I do not wish to debate my case online and therefore all negative, disparaging comments will be deleted. My only intentions are to raise awareness and to request financial assistance to navigate the legal process respectfully.
*********************************************************
My name is Karen and I am seeking financial assistance towards costs associated in my quest for shared legal and physical custody of my children, ages 7 and 4. Currently, I am permitted to see my children fewer than 7 days a month, have temporarily been denied legal rights and I have been ordered to pay child support, which I have been doing willingly for a year and a half. Due to the fees related to obtaining justice for our children, I am concerned that someday they will have to ask me “Mommy, why did you give up on us?" No child should ever be put in a position to ask such a question, so I hope to resolve this costly and distressful circumstance respectfully through the family court system.
Your support will assist toward allowing our children the opportunity to recieve the love and emotional support they deserve from both their mothers.
Further background: My partner and I were in a relationship for 13 years, and during that time we welcomed a daughter and a son. Since then, I have been called “Mommy” and my former partner has been “Mama,” names chosen by our daughter. Due to laws of the state where we lived for most of our relationship, we weren't allowed to marry and co-adoption wasn't an option state-wide. Even so, we raised our children together as any nurturing family would, including play dates, enrollment in school, family vacations, doctor’s visits, swimming lessons, and family dinners. We were a family in every sense of the word.
Approximately a year after we moved to Massachusetts, our relationship ended. Since that time, my former partner, “Mama”, has stated she has been our children’s only parent. Since I have no biological connection to our children, there is no clear legal provision or protection of our children’s rights for equal contact with both mothers. I certainly do not object to supporting my children financially but I sincerely believe our children should be allowed equal access to both of their mothers. The legislative obstacle is that non-biological mothers can be ordered to pay child support "to protect the psychological and emotional well-being of the child." However, existing legislation does not allow the child equal access to both mothers, which seems to contradict the intent of “protecting the psychological and emotional well-being of the child”.
Over a year and a half of legal fees has exhausted my financial resources, and my quest is nowhere close to being resolved. I am determined to do whatever possible to restore the rights of our children and to recover my role as an equal parent. This legal situation is also to ensure the law is consistent with today’s society and science to reflect the reality that a “legal parent” is not strictly a matter of biology.
I am requesting any financial support you might be able to offer. If you are able, please donate to help cover the ongoing costs associated with this ordeal.
Thank you for caring, for sharing my story, and for doing whatever you can to help our children to have a happy life with both their moms.
~~~Karen
******************************************************
I am not a charitable organization. Donating to my legal fund is strictly a gift and can not be used as a tax deduction.
View my facebook page
Children's Rights Council: The Best Parent is Both Parents. How We Wish To Be Treated By Our Parents
On Jan. 2, 2015, the Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass., published the op-ed “Remove obstacles to shared parenting” by Ned Holstein, MD, MS.
This page is intended to support my cause only. I do not wish to debate my case online and therefore all negative, disparaging comments will be deleted. My only intentions are to raise awareness and to request financial assistance to navigate the legal process respectfully.
Organizer
Karen Partanen
Organizer
Burlington, MA
