Child Custody Legal Fund
Donation protected
Dear Friends,
After giving it much thought and exhausting all available resources, I've found it necessary to reach out for help with legal issues pertaining to the custody of my one and only child, Brandon.
I've been through thick and thin with my son since he's been born up until now at age 7. He was born into a family that was stretched to the limits due to my service in active-duty Navy that occurred before, during and after the events of September 11, 2001.
I found out just three months shy of our scheduled move to be stationed in Japan that my ex-wife wanted to be separated and requested to stay behind in the United States. With the support of my chain of command, I was able to plan on leaving active duty service in early 2010. This decision was made even though I had recently attained the rank of E-6, a rank that I could have maintained and retired at 20 years. I made this choice to stay with my son, Brandon.
Although his mother and I found it necessary to divorce when Brandon was 2, we had agreed to share joint physical and legal custody of him. This was an agreement that I've followed to the "T," yet either by second-thoughts or legal advice, my ex-wife has decided it would be best to try to cut me out of his life.
My first legal representation was quite successful and although it cost me almost all of my savings, $10,000 +, I came out of it with a great custody agreement. It was only after I moved closer to my ex-wife in order to maintain said 50/50 custody, that she became territorial and decided that she didn't want to share anymore.
After this I sought legal representation again, but with a new lawyer as I had moved to another county in California. This was a disaster and due to much inaction from my lawyer, my ex-wife was able to push through a lot of legal requests based on misinformation and falsification of the facts.
While this legal scenario was unfolding, I succumbed to much stress and found it necessary to quit my job in California due to health concerns. After this I found it necessary to move back to Utah to live with my family to regain my health and get back on my feet.
Although this was what was required in order to get my life back on track, it a perfect opportunity for Brandon's mother to exploit the situation and try to use my misfortunes against me. This came in the form of petitioning the court to take full physical and legal custody from me with my only yearly visitation being a paltry 2 weeks each summer.
Earlier this year at the 11th hour, I made a crucial decision to cut ties with my 2nd lawyer and sought to regain representation with my first lawyer. Since I made that decision, I've been able to steer things back on course for a fair and shared co-parenting agreement between my ex-wife and I.
Unfortunately, my ex-wife has disregarded advice from her own lawyer, the orders of the judge responsible for our case, and the attempts of me and my lawyer to hold her to the details of the most recent hearing that were decided with the best interest of the child in mind.
The bottom line for me is that I've spent $7000 this year just to turn things around and regain my involvement in my son's life. I've been very conservative in bringing issues before the court due to cost and have attempted to resolve most issues between my ex-wife and I. She hasn't been reciprocal in that regard and continues to bring issues before the court (That are not resolved in her favor), yet cost me legal fees regardless.
I'm looking to resolve a few outstanding issues that my ex-wife is unwilling to compromise on or cooperate with. This will cost me money which I don't have and need support for.
Please help me with this as all that I'm asking is to uphold the custody and visitation agreement that was created by a court appointed mediator. I've been in complete support of the court's decision and these provisions were made an order by our family court judge at a hearing on May 13, 2015.
Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter. I look forward to the future where my son Brandon is able to spend equal time with both of his loving parents.
V/R
Kip Butler
After giving it much thought and exhausting all available resources, I've found it necessary to reach out for help with legal issues pertaining to the custody of my one and only child, Brandon.
I've been through thick and thin with my son since he's been born up until now at age 7. He was born into a family that was stretched to the limits due to my service in active-duty Navy that occurred before, during and after the events of September 11, 2001.
I found out just three months shy of our scheduled move to be stationed in Japan that my ex-wife wanted to be separated and requested to stay behind in the United States. With the support of my chain of command, I was able to plan on leaving active duty service in early 2010. This decision was made even though I had recently attained the rank of E-6, a rank that I could have maintained and retired at 20 years. I made this choice to stay with my son, Brandon.
Although his mother and I found it necessary to divorce when Brandon was 2, we had agreed to share joint physical and legal custody of him. This was an agreement that I've followed to the "T," yet either by second-thoughts or legal advice, my ex-wife has decided it would be best to try to cut me out of his life.
My first legal representation was quite successful and although it cost me almost all of my savings, $10,000 +, I came out of it with a great custody agreement. It was only after I moved closer to my ex-wife in order to maintain said 50/50 custody, that she became territorial and decided that she didn't want to share anymore.
After this I sought legal representation again, but with a new lawyer as I had moved to another county in California. This was a disaster and due to much inaction from my lawyer, my ex-wife was able to push through a lot of legal requests based on misinformation and falsification of the facts.
While this legal scenario was unfolding, I succumbed to much stress and found it necessary to quit my job in California due to health concerns. After this I found it necessary to move back to Utah to live with my family to regain my health and get back on my feet.
Although this was what was required in order to get my life back on track, it a perfect opportunity for Brandon's mother to exploit the situation and try to use my misfortunes against me. This came in the form of petitioning the court to take full physical and legal custody from me with my only yearly visitation being a paltry 2 weeks each summer.
Earlier this year at the 11th hour, I made a crucial decision to cut ties with my 2nd lawyer and sought to regain representation with my first lawyer. Since I made that decision, I've been able to steer things back on course for a fair and shared co-parenting agreement between my ex-wife and I.
Unfortunately, my ex-wife has disregarded advice from her own lawyer, the orders of the judge responsible for our case, and the attempts of me and my lawyer to hold her to the details of the most recent hearing that were decided with the best interest of the child in mind.
The bottom line for me is that I've spent $7000 this year just to turn things around and regain my involvement in my son's life. I've been very conservative in bringing issues before the court due to cost and have attempted to resolve most issues between my ex-wife and I. She hasn't been reciprocal in that regard and continues to bring issues before the court (That are not resolved in her favor), yet cost me legal fees regardless.
I'm looking to resolve a few outstanding issues that my ex-wife is unwilling to compromise on or cooperate with. This will cost me money which I don't have and need support for.
Please help me with this as all that I'm asking is to uphold the custody and visitation agreement that was created by a court appointed mediator. I've been in complete support of the court's decision and these provisions were made an order by our family court judge at a hearing on May 13, 2015.
Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter. I look forward to the future where my son Brandon is able to spend equal time with both of his loving parents.
V/R
Kip Butler
Organizer
Kip Butler
Organizer
Salt Lake City, UT