A Legal Aid client was a divorced 30-year old working mother with one child. During her marriage the husband became more and more abusive and was physically violent with the client, which included punching, kicking, and strangulation. He would often continue these violent outbursts during the exchange of the child for his parenting time. He would come into the home, rummage through everything he could, and then yell, push and hit the client. The client was extremely afraid of interacting with him during these exchanges and would become very anxious days before the exchange was to take place.
The father was also increasingly negligent in his care of the child, bordering on abusive, and the client decided she needed to do something more to protect her son. Through legal representation by a Legal Aid attorney, the court granted the client sole physical and legal custody, along with an increase in monthly child support payments. Most importantly the court allowed only 8 hours per week of closely monitored supervised parenting time with the father. The client and her child now have stability in their lives and are safe from potential harm by reduced and safe interaction with the abuser.