Ex-self-rep mom in NEED for legal fees
My name is Natasha. My 6 year-old is Evan.
I am a self-repped mother who has been desperately fighting against a convoluted court system for custody of my child for 3 years. This has been ongoing since mid-2019. I was hit with the Pandemic which made it impossible to get in front of a Judge for almost a year following. Since Dec 2020 - I've had 12 appearances, with 12 different presiding Judges (which need to be consistently 1 with family Court matters). I have been unable to submit documents as the Court is limited to a 10-page submission - standard Case Conference briefs alone are 6+ pages and due to the lack of consistency with the Judges - everything that was requested in prior appearances was not taken into consideration for the next. I have also been told at every appearance that each Judge cannot give me direction for page submission limit.
I have contacted the following organizations for legal help;
LAO (legal aid) - cannot help me as I'm not on welfare.
Barbara Shlifler Clinic - cannot help me because of jurisdiction.
LSO - 30 min consult with a lawyer cannot give me summary advice as they're not aware of my case.
FJC - I'm not on welfare + jurisdiction.
Duty Council - funded by LAO - am not on welfare.
Court Support - I do not need support, I need representation as I can't self-advocate anymore.
Pro Bono Students - I am not on welfare + jurisdiction.
Since August of 2022 alone - probably about (conservatively) 60-70 lawyers who've advised me they cannot take my case due to my being honest about my financial situation.
OCL
CAS
MPP
CFSRB
Police
The Media
The list goes on. I've contacted everyone.
Backstory - I married someone who treated me very bady and who is genuinely not a good person, so I left. A child was brought into the mix. I have ZERO family or support as I am not from here. The Ontario Court system is broken and so scared to be unfair - they actually perpetuate being unfair. Despite my having hard facts proving my points - I'm left unheard and marginalized due to beaurocracies.
I've been fighting this by myself for years and am now physically ill over the damage this has caused me. I have developed stress-induced endometriosis. I am rampantly broke from not being able to maintain jobs that would normally be able to sustain me because of the stress (don't forget lockdowns and being completely isolated). I have been consistently judged and criticized for years for reaching out to literally everyone for help and receiving nothing.
There is a little 6 year old boy, who loves and in-turn is more than loved by his mother, that is affected by this.
I am now broken and unable to self-advocate. I have a Summary Judgement Motion set for November 25th, 2022 - materials need to be submitted by October 28th. This appearance means my ex is requesting the court to make a Final Decision WITHOUT trial. If I lose this - I will owe 10K in restitution to him for the Motion as well as the consequences of him getting full custody.
I need to hire a lawyer to respond that I need to have access to Trial. I will be in a position to fund said Trial when scheduled. I am not in a position to fund this Motion as I was provided a little over 2 months to action. I've also been quoted at a minimum 10K for a limited scope retainer (basically JUST for the appearance and materials).
Please - I'm fully aware of how long this request is to read and the potential backlash, but I am desperate and have been grossly misheard and I'm now too physically sick to help myself anymore. I need representation.
Kindly, kindly, I've done everything I possibly can; help me.
Organizer
Natasha Ford
Organizer
Toronto, ON