The law in the State of New York is gender neutral. Each parent has an equal opportunity to have custody of their children. However, many fathers who are involved in custody disputes feel there in an unspoken bias in the legal system. With this in mind, fathers who want custody of their children should do everything in their power to prove to the court that they should be awarded custody. They should do more than the mother does for the children, because if each of the parents contribute equally to their child’s or children’s lives, there is a tendency of some judges is to award custody to the mother.
Fathers Should Be Involved in the Education of their Children
The fathers should be involved in the education of their children. They should help their children with their homework. They should go to parent/teacher conferences. They should know the names of their children’s teachers and how to contact their child’s teachers or schools regarding any problems the child has. Fathers should be involved in the medical and dental care of their children. If possible, they should accompany their children to dental or medical appointments. They should be familiar with all the medical or dental issues their children have. Fathers should try to be involved in the athletic endeavors involving their children. They should offer to coach teams or be involved in their children’s extra curricular activities.
Fathers who have jobs that do not coincide with the children’s schedules, social networking and extra-curricular activities may have difficulty participating in these endeavors. Preparing a strong custody case involves planning and sometimes the father willing to make sacrifices in his life for the benefit of his children.
There was a time in New York when the man’s responsibility was to support the family and the woman’s responsibility was to raise the children and maintain the home. That changed a long time ago. However, there are implicit biases still maintained by some in the legal system regarding men being the financial providers and women being responsible for raising the children.
Elliot S. Schlissel, Esq. is a 
Each parent plays an important role in their children’s lives. This takes place until children have reached an age where they are fully independent of parents for support, care, intellectual development and ethical issues for their children. Children form bonds with their parents in their early years. When a 
In the Family Courts of New York, 
