A recent documentary filmed entitled “Romeo Misses a Payment” takes a look at a possible problem with the way child custody lawsuits are managed in the United States. It in particular focuses in on low-income groups. The maker of the film appears to be under the impression that the child custody courts perpetuate the “one parent household” for low-income individuals.
This individual decided to create the film after he had also gone through a divorce and child custody battle. The film was made in part to educate people about what he felt was going on in the courts and to encourage others to provide support for those going through the process.
A primary concern among this filmmaker is what he calls “parent alienation.” In these circumstances, the custodial parent may be blocking access of the non-custodial parent to the child. He discusses certain instances where these circumstances turned tragic. He also makes the assertion that, from his experience, male non-custodial parents outnumbered females by a ratio of around five-to-one.
A complaint among the filmmaker is that courts may not look into debts or hardships that parents are facing when child support determinations are made. Too little seems to factor in. The problem in dealing with low-income individuals is that they may not feel any legal options are available when they run into financial difficulties.
Illinois readers will need to keep in mind that this was a filmmaker who had his own point of view. We cannot say that his assertions are accurate under all circumstances. Family law attorneys do what they can to represent their clients’ interests in court and make certain that they are not victims of unfairness. We do that by looking at the individual circumstances of each case.
Source: Huffington Post, “Divorce and Child Custody Cases in America — See Film Romeo Misses a Payment,” Ilana Rapp, Jan. 7, 2014
