Reading residents may have heard that Kate Winslet is coming under fire from a fathers’ rights group after she made controversial comments to Vogue about her child custody arrangement.
The movie star has three children, each of them by a different father. Winslet is quoted in the November 2013 Vogue issue stating that she is the primary caretaker of all three children, indicating that she has sole custody. The magazine reads, “…none of this 50/50 time with the mums and dads – my children live with me; that is it.”
A U.K.-based fathers’ rights group has now used the star’s words in an advertisement. The ad includes a photo of Winslet and states, “Kate, every child deserves their father this Christmas.”
The group is reportedly offended that Winslet appears not to support co-parenting or shared custody arrangements.
Winslet’s lawyers have said that the advertisements are misleading and they are considering suing the fathers’ rights organization.
Fathers’ rights are a very delicate issue here in the U.S., and one that many feel passionate about. Although child custody laws in most states are gender neutral – meaning they do not favor mothers – obtaining visitation rights or custody is an uphill battle for many fathers.
In Pennsylvania, courts do tend to favor shared custody arrangements. Sole custody is not very common, but this does not mean all unmarried or divorced parents split custody 50/50. Often, one parent has primary custody and the other has partial custody.
In order to come up with a suitable child custody arrangement and to protect or assert one’s parental rights, it can be very important for fathers to seek legal counsel.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Kate Winslet Targeted By Fathers’ Rights Group Over Parenting Arrangements,” Cavan Sieczkowski, Dec. 19, 2013