Saturday, April 14, 2007

Why it is so important to have a back-up plan re: custody of children

http://livefromthemonkeyhouse.blogspot.com/2007/04/hello-my-name-is-sarah.html

Quote from this entry: The only other thing on my mind today was a sad phone call I got this morning. My very first client when I went into private practice 6 1/2 years ago was a woebegone dad who was trying to get custody of his daughter from her mother. The Children's Bureau got involved and tried to put the child into foster care. I took the case against my better judgment because this man looked like a homeless person. But I quickly realized he was an amazing man - an incredible artist whose wood carvings are some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. His daughter struggled in math and he created a fantasy game to teach her math concepts and she thrived! We won the case, he got custody and I developed a pretty good reputation in the court for how I handled that case.

We got a note last week that he was just diagnosed with lung cancer and congestive heart failure. And then a call this morning that he is in the hospital and in and out of consciousness. He will not make it. He does not have health insurance. And come Monday, we will be dealing again with the custody of this poor girl as she mourns the loss of her amazing father. Godspeed Ray. You will not be forgotten.


I wonder how old this daughter is? Are there no other friends of the family or relatives who might take her? I can't ask the author of the Monkey House blog these questions, because she doesn't allow comments from non-team members on her site.

Sigh.