Michael Phillips

The Price of Your Child: How Family Court Became a Billion-Dollar Industry

By Michael Phillips

“Follow the money.”

It’s an old investigative mantra—and when it comes to family court, it explains everything.

Family court was never supposed to be an industry. It was meant to resolve private family disputes with fairness, compassion, and justice. Instead, it has become a profit-driven machine—one that feeds off prolonged conflict, financial desperation, and the suffering of children and parents alike.

This isn’t a glitch in the system. It is the system.

Conflict Is Currency

The longer your case drags on, the more everyone gets paid—except you.

Every motion, every hearing, every court-mandated service is a billable opportunity. Lawyers charge hundreds per hour. Guardians ad litem and custody evaluators rake in thousands. Mediators, visitation supervisors, parenting coordinators—each one adds another financial weight to your chest.

Family court does not incentivize resolution. It profits from chaos.

If two parents cooperate and co-parent peacefully, the system loses a customer. But if one parent starts a war—especially a parent with more resources—they feed the machine. And the court rewards them.

Title IV-D: The Federal Cash Pipeline

Most people have never heard of Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. But it’s the financial backbone of the family court system.

Under IV-D, state courts are reimbursed by the federal government for every dollar they collect and enforce in child support. That’s right—courts make money from creating and enforcing child support orders.

Let that sink in:

The court gets paid when it separates you from your child and imposes a support obligation.

It’s not about fairness. It’s not about need. It’s about maximizing collections and inflating enforcement numbers. The more noncustodial parents they can create—especially fathers—the more federal dollars they receive.

In many jurisdictions, child support enforcement agencies operate out of the same courthouse and share the same data systems. The goal isn’t family wellness—it’s financial extraction.

Court-Appointed Cash Cows

Judges often appoint their favorite attorneys and evaluators to cases again and again. These appointments are lucrative—$150/hour for a GAL, $5,000 custody evaluations, $200 supervised visits.

It’s a closed referral network where loyalty matters more than qualifications. Parents have little say in who gets appointed, and even less power to remove them. Conflicts of interest are rampant. Some judges even rotate into these private roles after retirement—making money from the same courtrooms they once presided over.

It’s legalized nepotism.

Mediation Mills and ADR Mandates

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) sounds friendly, doesn’t it? Mediation, settlement conferences, parenting classes. But in family court, ADR has become another arm of the machine.

Mediation is often mandatory, even in high-conflict or abuse cases. And it’s not always neutral. Courts contract with “approved” providers, and parents are forced to pay out-of-pocket. Refuse to comply? You risk being labeled uncooperative.

Meanwhile, many of these mediators are former judges or attorneys who profit from their insider access. It’s not justice—it’s franchising.

You Can’t Afford to Fight—But You Can’t Afford Not To

Family court deliberately wears you down. Many parents spend tens of thousands of dollars over years just to preserve basic access to their child.

If you can’t afford to keep up? You lose by default.
If you speak up about the financial abuse? You’re accused of being combative.
If you cry in court about being broke? You’re told to get another job.

And even if you win—which many never do—the financial scars are permanent. Credit cards maxed out. Homes lost. Careers derailed. Mental health shattered.

The Financial Destruction Is the Point

It’s not just about making money. It’s about controlling parents through economic coercion.

  • You’re more compliant when you’re afraid of going to jail for nonpayment.
  • You’re less likely to appeal when you can’t afford transcripts or attorneys.
  • You’re easier to marginalize when your entire life revolves around surviving, not fighting back.

This is systemic financial abuse. And it’s all done under the banner of “the child’s best interest.”

Who Profits?

  • Judges (through referrals, retirement gigs, and court-connected networks)
  • Attorneys (on both sides, whether you’re plaintiff or defendant)
  • GALs and custody evaluators (frequently court-appointed, rarely held accountable)
  • Mediators and supervised visitation centers
  • State agencies (through Title IV-D reimbursements)

And who pays?

You do.
With your money.
With your time.
With your mental health.
With your child.

What Needs to Change

  • End Title IV-D financial incentives tied to custody and support outcomes
  • Ban mandatory ADR in high-conflict or abuse cases
  • Create transparency around court appointments and financial disclosures
  • Provide public audits of family court funding, billing, and appointment systems
  • Guarantee access to legal aid or court-appointed counsel in custody cases

Family court is not a neutral space. It is a marketplace where children are currency, conflict is profit, and justice is pay-to-play.

Until the financial engine is dismantled, no family is safe.

Up Next in the Series:
Judges for Sale: The Quiet Power of ADR and the Revolving Door

Author Bio:
Michael Phillips is the founder of Father & Co. and the REBUILT Justice Project. He writes about family court corruption, parental alienation, and the trauma inflicted by unchecked judicial power. His investigative journalism focuses on giving a voice to the erased and the unheard.

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