Hello, my name is Angela. I’m a proud U.S. Army veteran who served 22 years and mother of two young children who desperately needs your support. Right now I’m facing the hardest battle of my life — protecting my children.
I urgently need to raise $15,000 in the next two weeks to file an appeal in the Iowa Court of Appeals. Without this appeal, I risk losing the ability to keep my kids safe and give them the stable future they deserve. The full cost of this legal process has amounted to $45,000, but the most urgent portion is needed immediately just to begin.
In August of 2023, my estranged husband, a convicted domestic abuser in California, after years of documented violence, abruptly took our children without my consent from Germany, where we were stationed with the Army. Shockingly, emergency passports were issued for the kids under highly questionable circumstances, allowing my husband to kidnap them from our home overseas. He brought them to Iowa, where we have never lived before and filed for divorce and full custody. I was able to follow them to Iowa despite legal attempts to prevent them from leaving or to return to our home overseas. Then I was able to gain temporary join custody although he had a long history of domestic and child abuse. After nearly 2 years, we finally had our divorce trial and the Judge just saw fit to grant us joint custody despite his long history of abuse.
Our life has been upended – I lost a promising federal job opportunity, spent all my 401k and savings on the legal battles (over $35,000 so far), and I’m now living on a part-time wage and VA disability in Iowa. I cannot afford the $15,000 needed immediately to file an appeal, let alone the full ~$40,000 it will take to pay my lawyer fees and see this fight through. My kids no longer have a secure financial future.
My children’s safety and my own future depend on overturning this unfair custody decision. Please read my story and consider helping us in this desperate time.
The Full Story
Long-time Service and Sacrifice: I served honorably in the U.S. Army for over 22 years. I was stationed overseas with my family and worked in a high-responsibility federal role. I sacrificed several career opportunities by staying in Iowa to fight for custody of my children.
Years of Abuse: For more than a decade I endured domestic violence and child abuse at the hands of my husband. There are multiple documented incidents – arrest records, protective orders, and medical reports showing he assaulted me and our children. Even he admitted to police he hit our son. Yet time after time, for the sake of my kids, I reconciled with him under the false promise he would change.
Devastating Custody Ruling: In late 2023, while we were living safely in Germany, he engineered a move to Iowa – a state neither of us had ever lived in – so he could file for divorce under its no-fault laws. His goal was clear: drain my military retirement, demand alimony and keep us in Iowa for control. Despite the avalanche of evidence against him, the Iowa court minimized the abuse history and granted us joint legal and physical custody. This goes against Iowa law – the state codes presume against joint custody when there is a history of domestic violence - I have all the evidence to prove this – police reports, doctors’ notes, and even videos of his rage. I wish I had started a GoFundMe sooner but I honestly believed the Judge would be able to see the evidence and make a responsible and legal ruling.
Children in Danger: My 9-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter now share living their father and myself. They are consistently left alone while he works from home or with his mother who my daughter says is mean to her. Just days before they left, my daughter was found with my ex’s phone number written on her arm – a clear sign he manipulated them to flee. They have already been exposed to frightening, adult situations (R-rated movies, physical threats) despite my pleas. Doctors have advised my ex to stop drinking entirely after surgery – but he continues to heavily drink around the kids. I truly fear for their safety and emotional well-being every day they are away from me. He has proven numerous times that he will be abusive time and time again.
Government Wrongdoing?: I am also deeply troubled by how this all happened. An emergency passport was somehow issued for my children without my permission. Iowa law and State Department rules require both parents’ consent for a minor’s passport, yet these passports went through. Court filings and personal testimony from my ex during the trial indicate a member of Congress and a staffer may have been involved in this illegal process, enabling my children’s kidnapping. I mention this only to explain the full horror of our situation and why our case is so complex. For now, my focus must be on the custody battle in Iowa to save my kids.
Why We Need Your Help
I am racing against time. To file a formal appeal with the Iowa Court of Appeals, I need $15,000 within the next two weeks. This covers filing fees and immediate legal work to prepare the appeal. The total cost of the appeal and ongoing and previous legal representation is around $40,000–$45,000 – for the required briefing, court costs, and a skilled appellate attorney. (Iowa appeals are decided by a panel of three judges who review the trial record and written briefs and there is no new trial or jury – but appellate work is expensive.)
Use of Funds: Donations will go only to legal expenses: court filing fees, attorney fees, and related costs. If we exceed the immediate $15k goal, the extra funds will go toward the remaining appeal fees and any follow-up custody proceedings. Every dollar takes us a step closer to giving my children a chance at a safe, stable life. If I ever reach a point where my court/legal expenses are paid, any remaining balance will go into my childrens' 504 plans.
My Situation: I have no savings or assets left. I now work part-time for about $13/hour and rely on my VA disability pay just to survive. I am grateful to be renting an overpriced 3 bedroom so my kids have a nice place to live but this is not the life I worked so hard to build for them. I had high hopes of continuing my federal employment so they could have a chance at going to college without the requirement of joining the military like I did. I honestly wish I didn't have to beg for funds – I dedicated my life to serving and protecting others. But now, after over $35k already spent fighting for my own children, I simply have nowhere else to turn. I don’t have expensive lawyers or family money; I only have honesty, documentation, and a desperate hope that people will stand up for what’s right.
Why It Matters: Courts are meant to protect children and survivors of abuse. Iowa law explicitly gives more weight to domestic violence than most other factors in custody decisions. The fact that this didn’t happen in our case is an injustice. If we do not appeal, my abuser will effectively win, and I will be forced to live under an unfair order – paying him alimony and a portion of my military retirement despite his abusive behavior. But more importantly, my children will remain in an unsafe environment because the courts refused to listen. I'm completely unsure of their ability for a successful future in Iowa now, without finding a lucrative job in a small city I never meant for us to live, it seems impossible. With your help, we can change that outcome.
How You Can Help
Please consider any way you can: donating, sharing this campaign, or even just talking about it. Here are some specific actions that make a difference:
Donate: No amount is too small. As GoFundMe notes, you can withdraw funds as they come in even if the goal isn’t fully met. So even raising the first $15k helps immediately. I set a goal of $45k (to cover all costs) but know that every bit helps our progress. GFM’s tracking meter will keep updating as donations come in – your donation will be put to use right away once received.
Share Widely: The fastest way to reach more donors is by sharing on social media, community groups, and with any organizations you think might care (veteran support networks, domestic violence awareness groups, local Iowa community forums, etc.). A heartfelt plea often relies on thousands of small shares. Please be a voice for us.
Spread the Word to Officials & Media: Some people have suggested contacting local media or sympathetic officials (without naming them in this fundraiser to avoid slander). If you know journalists, bloggers, or people in legal/political advocacy, please tell them about our cause. Our fight highlights broader issues (child safety, abuse of power, veterans’ rights), and the more voices on our side, the better.
Stay Updated & Encourage Others: We will post updates on this page about our court dates and any progress. Even if you can’t donate, commenting words of support and sharing updates helps keep momentum. GoFundMe lets us communicate directly with donors; a community cheering us on can be a powerful morale boost.
My prayer is that no other mother (or father) will ever have their abusive spouse seek sanctuary in Iowa to circumvent the court system and take custody. My ex should have never been able to file in Iowa, we were residents of South Carolina for the past 10 years. More importantly though, he should have never been able to get emergency passports without clear legal reasons and documentation or at the very least without doing a background check which would have shown his arrests.
Organizer
Angela Morrow
Organizer
North Liberty, IA