Parents have complained to the governor that judges often ignored a law passed last year that required judges to first consider give both parents equal custody of their kids when they divorced. Now the Iowa Court of Appeals has amended a child custody ruling in favor of joint custody for a case in Western Iowa. Former state representative Dan Boddicker of Tipton co-authored the law and says he’s pleased to see it finally being used. He says there are some judges who’re very reluctant to consider the law, but he says more and more are starting to consider it. Boddicker says single custody often leaves one of the parents out in the cold.He says in most divorce cases one parent is relegated to the status of “visitor” and aren’t involved in their kids lives. He says joint custody gives both parents a chance to be involved in their kids lives. Boddicker says the reluctance to give joint custody is understandable in some cases. He says it doesn’t work very well in really young kids, but he says as the kids gets older it gets easier to work out. He says it’s always better for the kids to be around both their parents so the one parent doesn’t become a stranger. Boddicker says in cases with very young kids the agreement can changed as the kids get older.
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