The number of single mothers has been on a steady rise over the past decades. According to a recent press release by the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 9.88 million single mothers in the U.S. in 2007, which is up from 3.4 million in 1970.

Law makers in Tennessee are in a heated debate whether shared custody in divorces that involve children can be a common solution to deicide custody cases in the best interest of children. At the center of the discussion is the question whether it is reasonable that mothers are generally favored by courts to receive (full) custody of their children.

The Oklahoma Supreme Court disqualified a district judge as it believed that he misinterpreted grandparent visitation laws. Judge Charles Gray apparently used “an expansive interpretation of grandparent visitation laws to give the paternal grandparents of a 4-year-old boy physical custody of the child five days a week while limiting the mother to two days.”

Levi Johnston has scored a small legal victory again Bristol Palin. A judge sided with him and has opened the custody case to the public. He apparently agreed that Sarah Palin may be a threat to the case and denied Palin’s claim that a sealed case would be in their son’s best interest. A judge also denied Bristol Palin’s request to run the case using the pseudonyms Jane and John Doe.

Book Review – You get a lot of advice during your divorce. Some you should follow and some you better leave alone. The best advice may not come from your family, close friends, counselors and lawyers. It may come from someone emotionally disconnected who, however, can relate to your situation. Michael Jeffries wants to be that distant friend and offers support with his own experience of extreme parental alienation. If scientific books about alienation do not speak to you, this one may.

There is a common perception in this country that divorcing dads will lose their children in custody battles simply by default. However, a report published by Working Mothers magazine published today states that the times may be changing. Dads apparently are increasingly taking over primary child care duties, which puts the in a much better position to get full custody of their children.

“The shifting custody landscape is alarming to working moms, many of whom say they work primarily to provide a better life for their children,” said Working Mother Editor-in-Chief Suzanne Riss. “Women are surprised to learn that time spent in the office is increasingly being viewed by the courts as evidence that they’re less involved in their child’s day-to-day care. It’s important that working mothers understand the changes in custody rulings.”

British law firm Mishcon de Reya recently polled 4000 parents about events during a divorce, which yielded some not so surprising, but surely one astonishing result: More than one third of divorced fathers disappear from their children’s lives after a divorce.

Mishcon de Reya published the poll result marking the 20th anniversary of the British Children Act, which the company says is “not working” despite its good intentions.

A New York art dealer and a German heir to a consumer products giant have settled a custody dispute that involved their 8-year old daughter, art, real estate and cash.

An appeals court in Ohio has ruled that Marilyn Anderson, mother of 9-year daughter Victoria, is not allowed to smoke around her child.

Jesse James asked his former wife Janine Lindemulder to leave Sandra Bullock out of their current custody dispute. His attorney chimed in an said that Bullock in fact is not a “party to this litigation”, which of course, may be a bit tough to prove, especially if we see that Bullock already has participated in court filings and will have to be part of a new child custody consideration as the new spouse of James.

The current exchange of words between Levi Johnston and the Palin’s can only be described as barrage this time, but the vocabulary gets increasingly hostile and indicates that Johnston and the Palins may indeed be on their way to a violent custody battle. While Johnston is still busy shaping a public opinion that the former vice presidential candidate is alienating his son against him, it is widely believed that the Palins are forming a legal strategy against Johnston that will protect their turf and possibly a run for presidency in 2012.

The last thing Sarah Palin needs at this time is an ugly custody war with the 19-year old father of her grandson. It is highly unlikely that she will simply roll over and hand Johnston whatever he wants. Common sense would suggest that a battle strategy is in the making and Johnston should be prepared and brace for impact. Learning, understanding his situation and networking may be a good idea, as so many other single parents have learned.

In the light of the recession and rising unemployment, many states have created so called “child custody employment programs”, which are generally describe as a support system to help fathers meet their child support obligations. However, there is a rather ugly side to this approach. Mr. Custody Coach as an interesting article highlighting some of the problems of these programs.