Allan O'Marra's


Fathers' Rights Page

I offer this page as a resource for fathers who are facing, or are involved in, divorce proceedings relative to issues of custody, access and child support. I have been almost continuously involved in disputes and litigation for the past 14 years after two marriages with children have come unravelled and ended up in court. After all this time, I am still shocked and dismayed at the second class status that fathers are accorded in family court decisions. If custody is in dispute, judges grant sole custody 85% of the time to the mother (mothers have custody in 98% of all cases). The father is then "granted" "access" to his children based, not on the time he proposes to have with his children, but on the time most amenable to the mother. Support for the children is automatically set based on the father's gross income without any consideration of the income of the mother. And the father is often, as well, liable for spousal support. All of these decisions usually leave him in a very vulnerable position financially and too often without any meaningful amount of time to fulfill his very critical role as a father to his children.

I intend to build this page with articles and documents relevant to this important issue. If you have anything to say or contribute to help with this cause, send it to me at aomarra@gosympatico.ca


(Click on underlined headings to go to linked pages.)

Letter By Allan O'Marra to the National Post
A letter I wrote to the Toronto National Post after hearing about the suicide of a British Columbia father with overwhelming family support obligations and access problems with his children.

The Fathers' Rights Survival Guide
This is a document I prepared for the benefit of separating and divorcing fathers.

Myth of the Deadbeat Dad
An article by Donna Laframboise of the National Post published in the Canadian edition of the Readers Digest.

Father's Day Rally 1990
A picture from a fathers' rights rally I attended.

The Shared Parenting Network
A web site dedicated to the promotion of shared parenting as the basic starting position for all negotiations involving children in family law disputes. Site co-created by my cyber-friend, and father's rights activist, Lynda, and me.

Father's Rights Bumper Stickers


Go to this page on The Shared Parenting Network web site for information about purchasing father's rights bumper stickers.

Fathers Battling Injustice Web Site
This is an excellent resource for fathers who have issues with family law. There's a freely accessible forum on which you will find some very strong opinions and some valuable insights (some iconoclasts and some conspirarcy theorists too).