Self-Empowerment
Heidi was sifting through her normal postbox fare one day this April, flipping through bills, coupons, advertisements, and a subscription card for the Everett Herald newspaper, when she came across an unexpected piece of mail: a petition for a divorce.
Maybe it shouldn’t have come as such a surprise. It had been more than a year since her alcoholic husband had abandoned Heidi and their two small children. The family had been in a tough spot ever since, with Mom struggling to support the kids on a nanny’s wage. The petition detailed the husband’s demands, which included ownership of Heidi’s car and all proceeds from the previous year’s income tax returns. Upsetting, but predictable: assets that could be liquidated and then guzzled.
Heidi reacted as most of us would. Time to find a divorce attorney. But after appointments with a dozen Seattle-area attorneys, it became apparent that she could not afford competent counsel and still provide for her kids. She was beginning to feel helpless, until she decided to call the toll-free legal advice hotline operated by the Northwest Justice Project. Attorney Jason Vale answered her call and told her that while the agency did not have the resources to represent her, she could contest her husband’s petition without a lawyer. Vale offered his advice and limited pro se assistance; she gladly accepted.
Vale gave her an in-depth phone tutorial on proper courtroom etiquette and instructed her on the best way to present her case. On the day of the hearing, Heidi was calm. In her hand was a cheat sheet of legal terminology Vale had helped her prepare. She asked for a continuance, and the judge granted it over the objections of her husband’s attorney. The continuance bought her three weeks – time she would need since her husband wasn’t financially supporting the kids and evinced no intention of paying child support.
Heidi’s next challenge was a change of venue, seeing as the husband had filed for a divorce in Skagit County Court – a two-hour drive from suburban Seattle (and a monumental burden for a working mother
with two kids to support). Vale helped her draft a change of venue motion. Heidi presented it to the judge and did not miss a syllable in making her case. Clearly impressed with her level of preparation, the Skagit County judge first denied the husband his petition for the car and tax funds, and then he transferred the rest of the case to Snohomish County Court, a 15-minute ride from her Heidi’s home. The final hearing would determine parental rights and child support, and despite Heidi’s success, she grew anxious as the most important court date yet approached. A family friend recommended a local attorney to Heidi, and she nervously retained him.The next hearing was a disaster. Heidi’s lawyer spoke in a monotone and didn’t raise a single objection the entire hearing. He forgot to submit a child support order, a big problem since Heidi’s husband was being paid under the table at a local restaurant and his income could not be readily ascertained. The judge’s resolution? He should pay the bare minimum required under law. Even more galling, Heidi’s husband was granted visitation rights every weekend and the entire summer, more than the husband had even sought.
Heidi, of course, isn’t finished yet. Frustrated by a verdict she blames on unprepared, dispassionate counsel, she has appealed the ruling. She’s currently waiting for another hearing to be scheduled, and as she pours over her copious notes from her last day in court, one thing is certain:
Next time, her voice in court will be her own.