Did Custody Battle Make Heath Ledger Snap?
July 2nd, 2009 by Robert Franklin, Esq.Here's an article on the death of Heath Ledger. According to former Monty Python member, Terry Gilliam, his custody battle over his daughter Matilda had a lot to do with it (Vanity Fair, 6/29/09). That, combined with overwork, illness and lack of sleep seem to have done him in. But Ledger was adamant about having custody of his daughter and that seems to have snowballed into enough lawyers that multiplied, according to Gilliam, "as if they were breeding."
(I've seen it myself; divorce and custody, that can be so simple, become, when one party has a lot of money, donnybrooks. The greater the acrimony, the longer the case lasts. The longer the case lasts, the larger the attorney's fees. It's why we should do everything we can to get divorce and custody out of courts, out of the hands of lawyers and into the hands of those who care about the needs of children.)
Ledger's friends advised him to just drop the custody issue and walk away, but he refused, adding to the stress that eventually killed him.
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July 2nd, 2009 at 10:50 pm
The author of this piece is a disgusting flake. How can anyone conclude that the media portrays men as idiots because, well, men are irrelevant.
The fact is that the world is in the dire straits it is in today precisely because men haven't been running it for the last 50 years - women, queers, near-queers (a.k.a. metrosexuals), and other effeminates have been.
July 3rd, 2009 at 1:49 am
this man is a noble martyr in the most pressing social cause of our time.
July 3rd, 2009 at 7:35 am
A year later someone mentions "oh, by the way... he was fighting for his kid too"?
GR
July 3rd, 2009 at 8:21 am
russ doesn't pull a punch. i would like to add my take. i am not sure if i agree with "50" years. perhaps 35. while i don't think gays are running the world, they certainly have more clout now and one could argue that their overall agenda, not withstanding their own rights as human beings, is not user friendly to men in general. there have always been effeminate men and always will be. they're a distinct minority and don't bother me on a personal level at all. my ex-wife had one buzzing around my, then 3 year old, during our divorce but nothing came of it so no big deal. i woke up in the middle of the night in vietnam with one performing his special "talent" on me but squashed that asap so again, no harm no foul, other than i thought i was having a sex dream with marylin monroe!
my anger is not pointed at women or gay men, but rather at weak minded men who have been systematically used for these past number of years to a point that they either don't see it or won't acknowledge the elephant in the room. few married men of today are in control of their own lives and that is devastating for society as a whole. ledger got caught in the same trap as the average father does on a regular basis in todays world. women in charge of mens destiny.
until that changes, nothing else will.
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:04 am
Donnie W,
The Gay and Feminist crowd have such clout in government bedcause, when they run for the beginning of a political career, a committe position, they can openly say they are running to see that (their co\nstituency) has a voice in government, and socially concerned politicians will appoint them. Try running for a seat on a Committee and tell the politicians that you want to see that men have a voice and all you will see is the front door.
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:08 pm
"Custody Battle Made Heath Ledger Snap"
me too.
July 6th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Robert Franklin says:
"The greater the acrimony, the longer the case lasts. The longer the case lasts, the larger the attorney's fees."
Bingo! Precisely why most attorney related groups are opposed to shared parenting legislation. Anything that forces divorcing couples to fight less and compromise more will reduce the legal fees associated with divorce and that is simply unacceptable!!!
Robert Franklin says:
"It's why we should do everything we can to get divorce and custody out of courts, out of the hands of lawyers and into the hands of those who care about the needs of children."
AMEN!!!
July 6th, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Heath Ledger was a great talent and human being.
I know well how it hurts to be removed from your children. He had one. I had three.
It is nothing short of barbaric to have parents fight over their right to love and provide for their own children. Heath deserved the right to be 50% of the parenting solution to his own child.
As was said earlier, treating both parents equitably takes all the need for endless attorney and court expenses is just not acceptable. To the parasites that is.
What is fundamentally wrong with humans that make this behavior permissable?
July 7th, 2009 at 3:12 am
To lose one's child to a system is so cruel. The child wants and needs both parents.
No one practices the best interests of a child principle.
Court proceedings should be on-going in the background and the child / parent involvement should not falter!
You separated from your partner, not your child. To give "Ownership" to one parent is immoral and must change.
When will all the torture and pain end?
The family law system is corrupt and evil, judges are not qualified to act as god over the children.
July 12th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
The primary reason men/fathers get soo badly mistreated by the family courts is that noone understands how bad we are mistreated. These guys keep complaining about the homosexuals, well maybe we need to copy their tactics. They, the homosexuals were discriminated against, they protested, marched, organized, and generally raised hell, they now have rights, maybe too many rights, but they have them.
The fathers rights/mens rights/ noncustodial parent right movement or whatever you want to call it, needs a game plan. I beleive I have came up with such a plan. Step one, teach men/fathers the law, most notably the law of voids and how to challenge subject matter jurisdiction. Once they learn that the can pull the rug out from under the terrorist who run the system. They can cut off the money power and control and keep them from "judicially kidnapping" our children. That is step one, now for step two, band together pool our resources, help pull each other up. Do whatever it takes to restore these guys.
Get them jobs, build business, restore their property, their finances and their ability to be parents once again.Third and most importantly, begin a massive PR campaign, and network with every organization that is fighting the same problem. Once the abuses are brought out into the open for the world to see, people are essentially good and will support us. Politicians seeing millions of pissed off guys out voting will not run the risk of voting for any more discriminatory laws or policies. Now this will take awhile, even with massive support , it will take several years to solidify this thing and put the "fear of God" into those that opposed us, but when they finally realize their "little racket" is about over they will quite.
It will be quite a battle and we may have to destroy the system to save our county, but whatever it takes will in the history books be considered necessary.
July 16th, 2009 at 1:47 am
Wow. These are the funniest comments I've read in my life. While a custody battle and the lawyers involved may have increased Mr. Ledger's depression, and contributed to his death, the assumptions made by the individuals commenting are, well, pretty narrow minded. I see the courts make poor decisions involving custody in both directions, victimizing both men and women and most importantly, CHILDREN (I am closely involved in the family court process, though to the relief of many posting here, not a lawyer). While many of you are correct in stating that custody should not be an adversarial situation, I would like to remind you that it takes two to fight. A better world starts with the choices you make today. Stop blaming the system, take responsibility for your actions and problem solve for yourselves.
As far as feminists and gays running the system, get a life. Or maybe choose to step outside the system and never again make the choices that landed you in the situations you are all currently bitter over. Oh, and for those of you who think women run men's lives- that can only happen if you allow it to. My husband's theory of life is, "I do what I want!" and I support that. Strangely enough, my theory of life is the same and he supports me. No wonder our relationship works and our children are happy.