Making the Rent

NEW GOAL:

Hi, everybody, Kat here. You may remember me from my previous GoFundMe, asking for help with my legal needs (you can see all that below).

This time, it's much more straight forward: rent.

I have a new job, which is amazing, but it comes with health insurance. Per my divorce papers, I'm required to go under the family plan (which is vastly more expensive per month than the individual plan) in order to support my ex-wife and the kids.

I was covered by my office during the first month of work, when I was still deciding on my plan. But because of that, their policy is to dock your paychecks for, as it's turned out, three consecutive paychecks. I just passed the second of these -- I won't get the third until the week after this.

Each of them is almost exactly half of what they would normally be.

With bills, weekly child support, and this extremely shortened series of checks, I'm now facing a $750 rent with approximately $11 in my bank account.

The amount previously raised by this GoFundMe back in April was $1,120. Any help reaching an additional $750 (so, $1,870) would be very, very much appreciated.

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PREVIOUSLY:


Hi, everybody. My name is Kat Crighton. This is a GoFundMe for legal support.

I left a deeply emotionally abusive relationship a little more than a year ago. I had no job, health problems, almost nothing in the bank, and nothing but a duffle bag of clothes -- and I still managed to escape. I did whatever I could to restart my life -- got a job, worked through health problems, found someplace to live. My ex pushed hard for an immediate divorce, and I thought at the time that maybe that was for the best. What I didn't know was that our "mediator" was a lawyer working for my ex alone, and that the divorce papers I signed were far from normal. 

I still got to see my daughters, but -- as I later found out -- far less than what's normal. And though there's a provision that should allow me to see them for longer and longer periods, my ex seems to have no intention of honoring that. In addition, she's asking for more child support than I can afford -- even though she's benefiting from living with three providers, and I'm barely making ends meet working hourly.

For those who read the original summary, here's where things have changed as of April 26:

The timeline didn't work out. Trial isn't an option right now.

But here's what is happening: Everything I raise here goes straight to paying my legal fees so far, and once that's covered, anything left over is going into the rainy day fund for the next time my ex decides to go after me.

I've already accepted that I have years of this ahead of me. But I'm doing what I can here, now, to be the best mom I can be for my daughters. I escaped once; every day I escape. And in doing so, I carve out a bigger and bigger safe place for my loved ones.

I don't have words to say how grateful I am for the donations already here, and for any that may be forthcoming after this change to the summary. Just thank you, and thank you, and to everyone, thank you.