Catherine's dedication to my family, and countless others have made her phenomenal in her field. No…read morematter what the situation, she is able to handle it with professionalism and poise. I wish I had her as my divorce attorney, but I am extremely thankful I had her for this custody issue. I have recommended her to anyone needing counsel. She has proven over and over again that she can be trusted, and will give it her all. Small backstory:
My divorce attorney was less than stellar, my ex would consistently violate the terms of our custody agreement and got away with it. The kids grew tired of their mother having different boyfriends in and out of the house, alcohol issues, being alienated from friends and family, etc. Every time the children requested extra time or I requested extra time, it was not even an option. Requesting special event time, which was well within my rights as stated in our paperwork, was a nightmare. Nasty phone calls, texts, threats of never being allowed extra time again. My children never wanted to leave my house, and would often cry before I would take them back. Still to this day, their mother makes them feel guilty about wanting extra time with me, or accuses them of loving me more than her.
One day my daughter called me to pick her and her sister up. A storm had knocked the power out, and it was very cold. I tried to call my ex, the girls tried to wake her but she wouldn't get up. I picked up the girls, while still reaching out to my ex which she never responded to. Roughly an hour later she finally called. It was in full on war mode. I took the girls right back to their mothers house. She had called the police, and told the girls I was going to jail. My ex forbade the girls to speak to me for almost 3 days. Took their phones away, she wouldn't even respond to texts/calls. When I finally got to speak to my oldest daughter, she was crying, apologizing, saying she should have never called, everything was her fault etc. My daughter could only speak to me while on the bus to and from school, otherwise her mother would listening to every single word. After that enough was enough. So, I set up a consultation with Catherine. She was very straightforward and honest, listened to each of my concerns and gave me realistic options. She did not pressure me into making any decision, it is difficult to get fathers rights overturned, but I was willing to take that chance if that meant I could help my girls. It didn't take long after discussing these things with my family to get things rolling. Communication was always there. Right off the bat she was able to negotiate extra visitation time. I am responsible for transportation to and from school during my time and it is a 45 min drive one way, so we needed to see how things would go. This was certainly a big step for the girls, and everyone involved. Except my ex. For the first 8 months of separation she played the victim (narcissism at its finest) emotionally manipulating our children, and I had plenty of evidence of Parental Alienation. Catherine was aware of these games and strongly suggested a GAL. This motion was granted. My children met with the GAL at both of our homes, and informed her that they wanted to live with me. Unfortunately she made the recommendation for the girls to stay with their mom due to being established in their school. Catherine made every effort during our hearing to remind the GAL, and the magistrate that the children were moved without court or my consent. She also reminded them that my ex pulled the girls from not just one, but 2 of their schools during her moves. As well as lying to the enrollment center.
My number one concern is what is best for my children I knew I couldn't disrupt the progress my children were making at their current school. No matter what school they would go to they were always excellent students. I agreed with my ex to remain the residential parent for school purposes. But Catherine was able to get everything else we were asking for. My girl's wishes included. Catherine reminded me that Fathers matter too!!
