On the day Ana’s final divorce papers were finally filed and her fight to leave her abusive relationship concluded, she and her son were able to breathe a sigh of relief and move onto the next chapter of their life. Ana and her ex-husband had been in legal battles about their divorce and paying child support for almost a year, but she was denied a court-appointed lawyer and was unable to pay for one.
Ana’s marriage had ended with her ex-husband leaving her and her son for his girlfriend’s family while refusing to financially support them or respect the parental roles that she had formerly relied on. Ana reached out to PWJC through the Walk-In Legal Clinic and shared her frustration with her ex-husband’s refusal to pay child support, his threats about her compliance with their custody agreement, and his other violations of the orders which were already in place including not drinking in front of their child.
Although Ana was distressed, in just one consultation at the Walk-in Clinic, a PWJC attorney helped her access documents from the initial divorce proceedings and settlement conference, and also offered counseling through one of our partner agencies for her and her son. This put her on the path to accessing and utilizing the child support order which was already in place. Ana was also advised to prepare for future issues by keeping a log of custody violations and to set up a third-party support system in the case of a custody dispute in order to prioritize the safety of her son.
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