Hello Everyone!

My best friend Kate, mother of twin 8 year old boys, is currently in an inequitable fight for her equal parenting rights. I am calling to you friends, family, and community, to rally the resources to make this highly unwarranted fight at the very least, fair.

For nearly 20 years I've known Kate to be a giving, responsible, ethical, cooperative, loving, kind, understanding and humble person. In a time of crisis she is a lot of people's go to helping with with countless things. Lice outbreaks, recovering from surgeries, designing costumes, driving people home, arranging weddings, fundraising, fostering kids, you name it, she's likely helped with it. In life she's the human being operating on angel status. When she became a Mother these traits were multiplied by infinity and this is the love and energy she gives her kids in parenting them. 

You can often find her playing with her boys in all ways. Building legos, drawing, jumping on the trampoline, coloring, letting them give her a makeover. Teaching them about philosophy, languages, geography, engineering, cultures, history and paleontology. Supporting their imaginations by making halloween costumes from scratch (Peacocks, Emperor Moths, Bald Eagles, Therizinosauruses, etc). One time she threw her boys a full blown doggie wedding because they thought that their dog should marry their neighbor's dog. There was a dog food wedding cake, a doggie gown and tux, dressed up kids, with a family wedding photo and everything! I really could go on and on.  At the moment Kate's time with her boys is threatened. And these two wonderful smart, kind, and loving boys don't get to have their Mom the way they deserve. 

Kate has been in the process of divorce for just over two years. What was supposed to be an amicable divorce, done primarily through mediation and doing what was best for the kids, quickly soured when Kate accepted a job opportunity out of town that granted her a better income & free private school education for her family. When she shared her news with her co-parent/ex-husband, communication for creating a 50/50 parenting plan- something Kate was really committed to having- was shut down and a court case was filed against her. 

The subsequent relocation hearing ruled for status quo in NH and the 50/50 parenting plan already in effect. This left Kate underemployed for 7 months & with the added expense of attorney fees as her co-parent/ex-husband had become pretty unwilling to mediate without using counsel. 

As she wasn’t expecting this tension, expense, & unemployment, Kate has had to piecemeal her defense. This has yielded inconsistent and lackluster representation for the remainder of her divorce. When her co-parent/ex-husband duplicitously requested to dissolve the 50/50 parenting plan in place and petitioned the court for full custody of their kids, two weeks prior to the final divorce hearing, her attorney fumbled the protocol and didn’t inform her nor did they file the proper paperwork.  Feeling doubtful of her attorney's ability to truly represent her, and with so much at stake, she hired new counsel and they went into the hearing woefully unprepared.

The final divorce decree did not grant her co-parent/ex-husband full custody. Just like in the previous relocation hearing the court once again found both parents to be great parents and worthy of their children. However, the court did not grant Kate equal time with her kids and has given her 40% less time during the school year on the basis of her commute to her current job. That means that, at the moment, from September to June the boys only have their Mom for 9 days out of every month. This is unacceptable.

Kate is contesting the court's ruling and wants to fight to protect her parenting rights and a chance to present the full picture as she was not able to properly represent herself. Her co-parent/ex-husband is objecting to this contention and is fighting to keep the court’s current ruling, which gives him 21 days per month during the school year. He makes about 55% more per year than Kate, has support to pay for his attorney from his family, and has very little household expenses because his housing and board is provided as part of his work contract. This court battle is inequitable in all ways. But it doesn't have to be this way. We can pull together and help Kate gather the resources to show up properly in court.  

Your support would allow her to stand up for herself in the face of true pettiness. She’s a great Mother and this court battle is unwarranted. Her kids are strong, healthy, and vibrant. It's not right for little kids to be away from their Mom who loves, cares, and provides for them. Anyone with any shred of human decency knows that. Kate's kids will only be little once in their lives and this is it. She deserves to be with them and they deserve to be with her because she is a great Mom. A lack of money and one person’s trifling attitude should not be the reason why the boys don’t get to see Mommy. All she wants is 50/50 time with her kids which is reasonable.

I know that together we can rally for her to help her pull together adequate counsel that can properly represent her and her interests of equal time with her children. Let's show the court of NH that they can do better in considering the children’s well-being in grossly limiting their time with their wonderful Mother. Let’s stand by the woman, who much like our own Mothers- without need for thank you or praise, has consummately stood by us. Please share with anyone that you know cares deeply for Kate and her children and please know that time is of the essence. Thank you for taking the time. 

Best,
Á.