by Booth Vance

Created on: January 18, 2007   Last Updated: October 09, 2007

Comedian Robin Williams once said, "Ah, yes, divorce ... from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet." While extreme, it is an unfortunate perspective shared by many men when faced with the emotional and financial strains of dissolving a marriage.

With an estimated 50% of all marriages ending in divorce and a pervasive attitude that the courts don't always render decisions that are gender neutral, men are often relegated to feeling powerless in the face of the legal system.

While the financial ramifications of divorce are certainly of great concern to men, it is often child custody issues that cause the greatest stress. With the U.S. Census Bureau reporting that five of every six custodial parents are mothers, many fathers find themselves not only dealing with the emotional and financial stresses of divorce but also with the uphill battle of fighting to attain sole or joint custody of his children.

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that "Children who grow up without a father present, even when adjustments are made for income, are 75% more likely to need professional assistance for emotional problems, twice as likely to repeat a grade of school, and more likely to suffer a wide variety of other disorders including anxiety, peer conflict, and hyperactivity."

Other statistics are just as alarming. According to the Center for Disease Control, 90% of all homeless and runaway children are from fatherless homes and the National Principals Association Report on the State of High Schools states that 71% of all high school dropouts come from homes where there is no father present. Perhaps most shocking is the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reporting that 63% of youth suicides are from children who have no paternal influence in their lives.

In his many years of experience as an established family law practitioner, David Pisarra, Esq. has seen the harsh inequities men face in divorce and child custody cases as well as the often detrimental effects on the children. These experiences led him to create the Men's Legal Center in Santa Monica, CA to better address the special needs of men in the area of family law.

"It isn't right that men not only have to fight against the potentially devastating financial ramifications that come with divorce but also against social prejudice in regards to their children,." says Pisarra who advocates shared custody and responsibility. "Fatherhood is the single most important relationship

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