How are the family laws regarding custody issues in the United States different from the rest of the world? I managed to pick up this explanation of the legal issues that are likely to crop up as Michael Jackson’s mother Katherine and his ex-wife Debbie Rowe square up to fight for custody of the couple’s two children.
Last Friday, Prof Scott Altman, an expert in family law from the University of Southern California, explained to the BBC:
Who will win custody of Michael Jackson’s three children? Many variables seem like they could affect the outcome:
- Jackson’s will names his mother as guardian (or in her absence, Diana Ross).
- His ex-wife Debbie Rowe tried to disclaim her status as a legal parent, and then returned to court and had the termination of her rights overturned.
- And Jackson’s youngest child seems to have no legal mother, having been born to an as-yet-unknown surrogate.
In California, children born to a married couple are strongly presumed to be the spouses’ legal children. (My comment: should be the same here in Malaysia)
In this case, no one can dispute Jackson’s or Ms Rowe’s status as parent to the older children. Nor will Ms Rowe’s early effort to terminate her parental right be final because parents cannot terminate their own rights without a judicial investigation. Likewise, Jackson’s will should not affect child custody.
Although parents regularly indicate in a will who should be named guardian in case of their death, these designations typically become effective only upon the death of both parents. One parent’s will cannot unilaterally deprive the other parent of custody. (My comment: should also be the same here in Malaysia)
So how will the court decide? California law presumes that minor children belong in the custody of a legal parent – in this case Ms Rowe. The law also allows judges to override this presumption if parental custody would be detrimental to the children. So a court will need to see evidence.
If, as has been widely speculated, Ms Rowe has rarely visited her children over many years and has almost no relationship with them, a court could easily deny her custody. But if the children know her as a mother and have seen her frequently, she will almost certainly win.
This leaves the question of the youngest child. Ms Rowe has no claim to be his legal mother. She did not give birth to him, and was not married to Jackson when the child was born. Certainly a court might award Ms Rowe custody of all three children – most courts favour keeping siblings together.