Help a single mom out?
My friend, hestiax, is the single mom of a beautiful 5 year old girl. She told the father about it while she was pregnant; he said he didn't want to have anything to do with a baby, and she said she didn't intend to sue for child support.
She had been out of work for a couple of years, and finally found a data entry job that doesn't exactly pay a living wage. In order to afford to work, she had to file for childcare assistance. In order to file for childcare assistance, she had to name the father of the child. So the state took his name, forced a DNA test and sued him for child support. The support goes to her, but it is in place of assistance for the state. He wasn't happy, and asked her what had happened to their agreement that they each go their own way. She explained that she needed financial assistance and couldn't get any from the county without identifying him.
Now, after seeing her for two months on most weekends for a few hours at a time, and 5 years of no parenting experience whatsoever, he believes he should have at least half custody, and have her stay with him in a tiny one-bedroom condo. Hestia would prefer a parenting class and supervised visitation, and definitely no sharing a bed with him, which he has stated he plans to do. (We aren't even sure his sharing a bed with her is legal.) He started lying and becoming abusive towards Hestia. Her daughter seems underwhelmed by him at this point. He is threatening her with suing for custody, and seems to think he could get full custody, which is highly unlikely with five years of abandonment.
In addition, we are fairly certain that he concealed a fair portion of his income, based on the small amount of child support he is paying.
So, Hestia needs an attorney. But she can't even afford clothes right now, much less a retainer. The attorney she has talked to requires a $2200 retainer, and there will probably be other expenses as well. Because she is receiving assistance, she cannot even collect donations to pay an attorney. However, I can.
If you can spare anything to help Hestia hire competent legal assistance, please donate. I will pay the attorney directly whatever money I can collect for that purpose.
You can donate through Paypal to margaretATfnorkyDOTcom. There will be a small fee, but all funds after those fees will be used for legal services.
This post is public. Feel free to link to it if you think there are other people who would like to help.
Note: I am aware that a lot of the information in this post is vague, that is necessary for privacy's sake. I can answer questions privately at teal.cuttlefish@gmail.com (for faster response than the paypal address) or through PMs on LJ or Facebook. I will also screen responses on this post.
Note2: I thought I would need help paying for fixing my new dogs, but we managed to budget for that with a bit of effort. With us on disability and Hestia at a job that does not pay a living wage, we need a lot of help to keep her daughter safe and happy. Anything you can contribute would be greatly appreciated.
She had been out of work for a couple of years, and finally found a data entry job that doesn't exactly pay a living wage. In order to afford to work, she had to file for childcare assistance. In order to file for childcare assistance, she had to name the father of the child. So the state took his name, forced a DNA test and sued him for child support. The support goes to her, but it is in place of assistance for the state. He wasn't happy, and asked her what had happened to their agreement that they each go their own way. She explained that she needed financial assistance and couldn't get any from the county without identifying him.
Now, after seeing her for two months on most weekends for a few hours at a time, and 5 years of no parenting experience whatsoever, he believes he should have at least half custody, and have her stay with him in a tiny one-bedroom condo. Hestia would prefer a parenting class and supervised visitation, and definitely no sharing a bed with him, which he has stated he plans to do. (We aren't even sure his sharing a bed with her is legal.) He started lying and becoming abusive towards Hestia. Her daughter seems underwhelmed by him at this point. He is threatening her with suing for custody, and seems to think he could get full custody, which is highly unlikely with five years of abandonment.
In addition, we are fairly certain that he concealed a fair portion of his income, based on the small amount of child support he is paying.
So, Hestia needs an attorney. But she can't even afford clothes right now, much less a retainer. The attorney she has talked to requires a $2200 retainer, and there will probably be other expenses as well. Because she is receiving assistance, she cannot even collect donations to pay an attorney. However, I can.
If you can spare anything to help Hestia hire competent legal assistance, please donate. I will pay the attorney directly whatever money I can collect for that purpose.
You can donate through Paypal to margaretATfnorkyDOTcom. There will be a small fee, but all funds after those fees will be used for legal services.
This post is public. Feel free to link to it if you think there are other people who would like to help.
Note: I am aware that a lot of the information in this post is vague, that is necessary for privacy's sake. I can answer questions privately at teal.cuttlefish@gmail.com (for faster response than the paypal address) or through PMs on LJ or Facebook. I will also screen responses on this post.
Note2: I thought I would need help paying for fixing my new dogs, but we managed to budget for that with a bit of effort. With us on disability and Hestia at a job that does not pay a living wage, we need a lot of help to keep her daughter safe and happy. Anything you can contribute would be greatly appreciated.