Support a Family's Fight Against Unjust Legal Costs

As I have recently learned the way this fund works is incremental. Go fund me sets the goals and then raises the goal once the first goal is made. Woohoo the first has been made and now they raised it to the next level. This next level should get me most of the way out from both legal bills and keep me from attorneys pushing jail. I still cannot get an itemized list of his bills from them so I cannot go for a loan, therefore this is the only way I can see to get out from under Dennis's lawyers bills.

I am looking for help to get legal expenses, not even mine, taken care of. I have tried every way I could to avoid taking this route, but my ex-husband and his lawyer wanted to destroy the ranch/farm my family had built since the early 1900s. I've spent 4 years trying to get various loans: loans secured by my home, hardship loans, small loans, larger loans, in hopes of coming up with a loan to pay off my ex what his attorney thought was deserved, $225,000. There were no considerations made to the cost he caused me and our children through his alcoholism and wrecking of ranch equipment and livestock losses due to deaths that could have been avoided. I don't have credit card debt; if I did, I could get a loan. I don't have unsecured debts, except this legal bill, and I can't get an itemized bill from the lawyer (they refuse) or I could possibly get a hardship loan. In other words, I'm not trying to not pay these things; I just cannot raise any more money from expendable assets.

Fast forward to 2024, my ex-husband was very ill and dying, and I had not been able to come up with the large sum they wanted. In court in October 2024, his lawyer expressed that he had not received any payments for his legal services thus far from Dennis. He had planned to take his share of the money once I was able to obtain it. On December 5, 2024, in court again, I was given the order to present a check for $225,000 on January 31, 2025, or go to jail for contempt, turning myself in to custody. On December 11, 2024, my ex-husband passed away. From January 30, 2025, our 4 adult children and I, plus our oldest son as executor of the will, signed a document absolving the $225,000 debt to $0 but agreed to pay a reasonable fee to Dennis's attorneys, offering $30,000, a similar fee I had paid my attorney over the years for this divorce. Dennis's attorney had this document on his desk on January 30, 2025, but still demanded that I go to jail on the 31st, anyway! I did go to jail for 74 full hours or just a bit over 3 days. I was in court again on February 3, 2025, and the lawyer said the charges/his expenses should be $40,000 by the time this was finished, and the judge went with that. I was then given 3 weeks to sell every cow I could, as well as any other items I might have that could be sold in order to fulfill this demand. Montana temperatures the next 3 weeks were anywhere from 25 below to 55 below zero. I sold as many of the bred cows as I could at a reduced value due to the time restraints and horrible weather and roads, sold an old camper/trailer, and cashed in a small retirement fund as well, the only savings I had left. Lost wages while dealing with legal stuff, traveling across the state multiple times to work on possible loans, getting appraisals, being in jail, trying to get the cattle hauled in and sold all add up. Jail cost me 3 months of lost health insurance, lost medicine coverage, and no wages as I couldn't work and deal with the court orders. Medical expenses, car payments, electricity, gas, and household utilities, and everything were unmet because of trying to get this lawyer paid. Also, since February, my lawyer has added almost $6000 to my bill, a bill that was zero in February.

I would be grateful for any help you would consider donating and I'm also willing to pay back anyone who would like me to pay them back with an understanding it is going to take me a good year or so to be able to start paying things back. I'm at a continual threat of losing my car for falling behind on payments, my auto, health, and home insurances, basic bills such as gas/electricity, medical bills, etc... because I have fallen so far behind on these and more. Catching up is going to take time and that is why I'm looking for a helping hand. Anything would help.