WFMY News 2 (Greensboro) Reporter Morgan Hightower, You Listening?

Morgan Hightower is a News Reporter with WFMY News 2 based out of Greensboro NC who recently solicited Facebook comments from the public regarding questions they would like to see her ask sitting Governor Pat McCrory during an interview he agreed to with her. In looking at the comments, I saw no less than 15 questions from supporters of NC Fathers asking about family law reform and equally shared parenting. In viewing the interview with the Governor, Morgan Hightower decided that none of the questions you posted on the WFMY News 2 Facebook site would be asked of the Governor. Fair enough, I don’t think anyone expected that all comments submitted would get answered and there were probably other comments that Mrs. Hightower and WFMY News 2 didn’t get to ask. Nonetheless, we feel that it is time that the mainstream media starts to hear from NC Non-Custodial parents, step-parents, grandparents, and other family members that make up an overwhelming numbers of voters and media consumers in the State of North Carolina because the issues are very important and hurting upwards of 5.5 million families and children. With this in mind, we wanted to create this blog and ask NC Fathers supporters to pose comments to WFMY News 2 and Reporter Morgan Hightower regarding what you have experienced in the family courts and then we will share this blog with her on Twitter and others sites and perhaps she will keep an open mind and do some research on them and get in contact with us about a story. If any reporter at WFMY News 2 wants to contact us, they can do so on our FACEBOOK PAGE or via this CONTACT FORM. If you are a consumer of media in Greensboro NC and a non-custodial parent or extended family member then we strongly encourage you to submit comments.

In the section below, we are going to post our own comments to Morgan Hightower and WFMY News 2 regarding issues we think are at the top tier of issues that are extremely dangerous and leading to serious conflict, domestic violence, and murder/suicides since they that are related to the NC Family Courts. We also want to caution Mrs. Hightower that our organization is not a Father’s Rights group or Men’s Rights advocacy group. We advocate for any parents (Mothers, Fathers, and extended families) and their extended family who have been marginalized as a 4 day a month visitor to their children, and who pays money to a federal enforcement agency to support their kids instead of being allowed to directly support their kids as an equal parent with equal access.

In August of 2013, NC Fathers asked Morgan Hightower and WFMY News 2 to investigate this. Anyone want to bet that this data does not fit in with the politics of this News organization, but all too well fits in when it’s a Man committing Domestic Violence?

Issues Morgan Hightower and WFMY News 2 in Greensboro NC Should Consider When Thinking About Family Court Reform

• Morgan Hightower should know that per NC law, when two parents separate from a marriage or relationship, the law is very clear that unless there is a custody order, one parent can keep the children away from the other parent completely and even move across the country (sometimes Internationally) to start a new life. It is then up to the alienated parent to secure a lawyer that usually starts at roughly $20,000+ to initiate a court action. For many North Carolina parents, finding that money is impossible due to poverty and they (and the entire extended family) are forced into the position of never seeing their children again. For those that are able to obtain this money, by the time the alienated parents finds the other parent, hires an attorney in that jurisdiction, and gets a court hearing, it can take up to a year to do all this. By this time, Judges decide that since a year has elapsed, the alienating parent has established consistency and allows things to stay put. In short, whichever parent can get their hands on a child(ren) just before separation can alienate a child from another parent LEGALLY and force the other parent into a pay wall if they ever hope to see the children again. We believe the anxiety, fear, anger, depression, and turmoil of this common event hurts many kids and leads to domestic violence and/or murder/suicides. On just this issue ALONE, we believe WFMY News 2 has ample information to consider running a story on this.
• If WFMY News 2 reporter Morgan Hightower decides to do a news story on this issue, it is likely she will talk with several family law attorneys in Greensboro NC to get their side of the story and we already know what she will be told. She will be told that equally shared parenting puts two parents (who are likely in conflict) together more often and this will lead to increased domestic violence and murder/suicides. Our take on this has two parts: 1) What if the parent who has custody is creating conflict and the non-custodial parent is not? Hasn’t the custodial parent just created something that is keeping the non-custodial parent from equal parentage and access to his/her kids? 2) If anyone at WFMY News 2 thinks that after a divorce and spending $20,000 in a custody battle to only lose and either see their children four days a month or summers when a Judge allowed the custodial parent to move 6 days away is somehow going to lessen conflict, then we have a problem. This combined with bullet number one above explodes the potential for domestic violence and murder/suicides.
• There is no doubt that Morgan Hightower or another reporter at WFMY News 2 has done a story on deadbeat dads, but we suspect that ALL of these reporters didn’t have the whole story on WHY Fathers get into a position to not pay child support. Here is more information to consider. The entire family court process is built around one parent winning custody and control of a child(ren), while the other parent loses and becomes non-custodial. This setup starts a massive war between parents for 18 years who do and say the most insane things about the other parent in hopes of discrediting him/her so that one can win custody. On just this alone, we suspect domestic violence is very much a reality. But you also have to remember that the custodial parent also get housing assistance, educational assistance, job assistance, daycare assistance, medical assistance, financial assistance, and tax incentives to make ends meet while non-custodial parents who have financial problems go to jail. We think it makes more sense to empower both parents, but apparently legislators and Judges disagree.
• Morgan Hightower and WFMY News 2 reporters needs to learn about the Social Security Act, Title IV, Part D, Section 458 which is basically federal legislation that defines child support enforcement. According to this act, for every one dollar collected in child support by the State, the federal government will give back between 66 cents to one dollar that can then be used to replenish Welfare money at social services in North Carolina. Therefore, the State of North Carolina has an incentive for one parent paying larger and larger sums of child support as a marginalized parent which triggers greater federal money for needed State programs. Of course, with equally shared parenting, there would be less child support payed which would trigger less federal money and put the State of NC in a position to not be able to keep up with growing Welfare expenditures. Therefore, we believe that or family law system has been setup to make sure the State of NC has Welfare money on hand and is done on the back of the non-custodial family/child relationship.
• Morgan Hightower and WFMY News 2 reporters needs to know that the average custody battle in NC starts out at roughly $20,000 PER PARENT and the national average is that parents will fight two of these battles in 18 years for a total of $80,000. When you add in minor skirmishes over contempt violations, child support, and other matters, this figures jumps to well over $100,000. This is a tremendous amount of money in lawyers pocket from just one family. So our question to Morgan Hightower is, would she rather see this money in lawyers pockets or in parents pockets who can help their children go to college, buy a home, start a business, or get needed medical care?
• NC Fathers has NO doubt that WFMY News 2 reporters have done considerable stories on Domestic Violence which is a very serious problem in North Carolina. However, there are things happening in the family courts that are beginning to cast a shadow of doubt on ALL domestic violence matters which is beyond dangerous. As stated earlier, parents who want to win custody have an incentive to make a false allegation of domestic violence because it is the perfect tactical weapon to put the other parent in a real tough situation to either win custody or any visitation with his children assuming he can even pay for a custody lawyer after spending all his money on a criminal lawyer on the violence charge. Many people are under the misunderstanding that this cannot happen, because without evidence of domestic violence or witness to alleged violence, a matter can never come to fruition. This is most certainly wrong and we point that out quite clearly in how it happens. As this happens more and more, this shadow of doubt is going to hurt many Men and Women who are actual victims of Domestic Violence. And, The Jodi Arias case just underscores how easy it is to do. It should also be noted that this video is Father centric, but in reality any gender is capable of doing this and it happens in 90% of child custody matters.

Another video to underscore this problem of weaponizing false allegations.

So with just the information above, there is clearly enough conflict and dangerous issues that currently exists in the NC Family Courts to dispel lawyers, Judges, and the NC Bar Association assertion that we have a good system.

Our belief is that when the courts are equalized and there IS NOTHING TO FIGHT OVER, and when Judges tell parents the future with their children is dependent on both parents working hard to put differences aside and work with (as opposed to against) the other parent then everything above will be minimized and this is the message we want Morgan Hightower and WFMY News 2 to understand.

Now it’s your turn to post comments to Morgan Hightower using the comment system below. Simply put your name or initials in the field below, a email address (not shown once you post), and write out a RESPECTFUL comment about some issues with the NC Family Courts that you have experienced as non-custodial families. If you are open to WFMY News 2 contacting you about the information in your comment in case they do a story on this, please indicate it in your comment and we will send your name and email address to Mrs. Hightower. However, please do not put your email directly in your comments. Lastly, we strongly encourage you to share this article on sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Linkedin to bring about greater knowledge to the issues we just discussed.

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