Help Alison Secure Freedom From Unjust Legal Fees

My name is Alison, and I need help raising money to pay legal fees and get back on my feet after this long, arduous process of getting myself out of a physically and emotionally abusive relationship and protecting myself from future harm. After leaving my home with my (our) dog while my ex was out of town for work, he discovered I left the evening of the day I fled, and he harassed and threatened me over the next five days. I went to the courthouse for an emergency order of protection, and I planned to petition the court for a more permanent order of protection (aka, plenary order of protection).  After arriving at the end of that week and beginning to fill out the paperwork, I discovered it was also possible to name and protect my dog with the order of protection, and as I feared from past behavior and the possibility he would harm our dog in my absence, I would try to claim his safety too. Unfortunately, after a month and a half of waiting for the hearing to take place, we spent 13 1/2 hours in court over two days, and the judge sided with my ex. I listened to him fabricate two lies about two of the instances where he harmed me and plainly deny the rest of the abuse, even though my attorney and I presented evidence of an email he wrote to me detailing "I know I've abused you," amongst hundreds of other messages he wrote to me, and evidence of hundreds of unwanted and repeated phone calls. In the snapshots of these messages (texts), he also made threats. The judge still ruled in his favor. She vacated (revoked) the emergency order of protection, did not grant the plenary order of protection, and ordered me to return my dog to him. Even though my attorney advised me that I had grounds for appeal and that she ultimately didn't have the power to determine ownership of the dog and I could keep fighting for him, I didn't have the money to move forward with the appeal. This created the opportunity for my ex to come after me for money. I had 30 days to appeal, and when I didn't, he and his attorney petitioned the court for sanctions (if granted, this means I could be held responsible for paying his attorney's fees).

Now, after 6 1/2 months of waiting for the hearing on the petition for sanctions to occur, they spent 30 minutes in court, my attorney arguing I should NOT be held liable, and the judge (same judge who heard the hearing for the petition for the order of protection) ruled in my ex's favor again. I am in a lot of need for help paying the $10,000 she ordered I pay the court (to pay back to him). I just don't have it, and I don't make a lot of money in my current job to afford this huge sum of money. My goal is to raise it by Friday, April 16th.

Additionally, after many, many hours of employing my attorney, I'm in debt of $16,000. My goal is to raise this by Tuesday, August 31st.


I know this last year was tough for so many people, and some of you may still be going through it, but I ask anyone that is able to please, please help. Whatever amount you can give, big or small will help. It would absolutely mean the world to me, and would alleviate a massive financial burden. Please help me on my way to freedom from this heartache. 

Sincerest gratitude,

Alison