Judge Revives Boy's Bid To Divorce Father-Teen's Father Killed His Mother

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[chance33_98]

Judge Revives Boy's Bid To Divorce Father

Teen's Father Killed His Mother

POSTED: 3:24 pm EDT April 28, 2004 UPDATED: 5:50 pm EDT April 28, 2004

CANTON, Mass. -- The case of a 14-year-old boy seeking to sever ties with the father who murdered his mother is headed for trial.

A family court judge in Massachusetts reversed his own decision and is allowing the case to go forward. If Patrick Holland's bid succeeds, he would become the first child in the United States to successfully divorce a parent.

Patrick (pictured, right) has not seen his father since October 1998, when Daniel Holland broke into the Quincy home of his estranged wife, Elizabeth, shot her eight times and bludgeoned her with the butt end of a rifle.

Patrick, then 8 years old, discovered his mother's body the next morning.

"He has no right to know anything that goes on in my life. He doesn't care or love me at all, because why would he let me find my mom?" Patrick said.

Daniel Holland is serving a life sentence in prison, but a couple of years ago he began trying to learn about his son's life, including his school report cards and therapy sessions. That prompted the boy and his guardians -- Ronald and Rita Lazinsky of Sandown, N.H. -- to file suit.

[GeronL]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1126616/posts

Neighbor baby stops breathing... prayer ping

[Cicero]

Divorce? Wouldn't it be more in accordance with established law simply to issue an order forbidding the father to approach the boy in any way?

Once a father, always a father. That relationship cannot be changed. Keeping him away from the kid is another matter. I mistrust the judicial activism that abuses words like marriage and divorce.

[camle]

I thought this happenned in florida about ten years ago or so.

[jocon307]

"he would become the first child in the United States to successfully divorce a parent."

What about that case from years ago with another boy who wanted to "divorce" his mother? I think the contention was that she was a big pot head, and IIRC she had lost custody of her son. In any event, it was nothing like murder. Did he lose that case? I think it was somewhere out in the cold midwest, Wisconsin, Minnesotta, somewhere like that. Quite some time ago, maybe 10 or 15 years ago.

[TaxRelief]

Is this not simply Termination of Parental Rights (initiated by the child). This happens all the time.

[no more apples]

I have friends whose grandson's birth certificate was rewritten by the court to show his grandparents as the parents of the child. This is how it was explained to me. The reason given was to prevent the abusive mother from having anything to do with the child. (The father had been murdered by someone else.)

[ValerieUSA]

I agree. The boy is not married to his father. Divorce is to end a marriage. This is nonsense.

[Tabi Katz]

I agree. The child has every right to sever all ties with his father - and he'd be crazy not to. But use of the word "divorce" is plain silly.

[Chewbacca]

Isn't this the movie 'Irreconcilable Differences'?