Mental Health Professionals Condemn SB 730

Richard A. Warshak, Ph.D. and Sanford L. Braver, Ph.D. coauthored the amicus curie brief by mental health professionals on behalf of the LaMusga children in the LaMusga move-away case. Their brief was co-signed by 28 leading experts on divorce and custody. Their letter to California legislators concerning SB 730 is below.  

Dear California Policy Makers:

We are writing to alert you to our grave concern about SB 730 and the impact it will have on children and their fathers in California. The bill seeks to nullify the recent ruling by the California Supreme Court in LaMusga that reinforced the idea that the paramount consideration in custody disputes when a parent wants to relocate should be the best interests of the children. Those who oppose the Court's ruling argue that the best interests of children are irrelevant if they conflict with the mother's wishes. SB 730, as currently drafted, would permit custodial parents to move their children as far away from the noncustodial parent as they wished regardless of the impact on the children.

We thought you should be aware that the Supreme Court's decision in LaMusga was perfectly in accord with the positions taken in a brief we co-wrote for that case that was also co-signed by 28 of the country's top experts on divorce and custody. These authorities recognized the importance of the California precedent, and, on very short notice, acted to add their voices on behalf of what research suggests is best for children. The very few mental health professionals who advocate on behalf of unrestricted moveaways constitute a radical fringe and do not represent the knowledge and opinions of mainstream social scientists. The LaMusga decision does not prevent custodial parents from relocating with their children; it merely allows lower courts to consider the impact on the children.

We believe that passage of SB730 will result in a dramatic increase in contentious custody disputes because, under its provisions, the only way a father will be able to prevent his children's relocation is to be designated a joint physical custodian at the time of the divorce. With so much at stake, fathers will fight to achieve this parity even when they otherwise would have been content to allow the mother to have more time with the children.

Finally, it is a mistake to view this as a gender issue. For every mother who wants to move her children away from California, there are grandmothers and aunts who want the children to remain close by. The State of California should not allow the strident voices of a few women to drown out the interests of your entire constituency; children's best interests and the power of the Courts to protect such interests should not be sacrificed to the whims of adults who pursue personal aims at the expense of their children.

Richard A. Warshak, Ph.D.
Clinical Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Sanford L. Braver, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Arizona State University
Tempe, AZ 85287-1104