In the witty words of one time Harvard Professor, song writer, Tom Lehrer, “plaid your eyes, let no one else’s work evade your eyes” is an apt recommendation for the newly married who come to have children and may plan for college, but not for divorce.
Naivete, ‘trusting” your partner is not a safe proposition in the age of Court Custody Corruption. Children are placed at grave risk as courts deal with minor children as joint property, placing children at grave risk in an age when children are viewed as something between commodities and burdens. Children are not cherished, not respected, not protected by laws and subject to courts where decisions about children can be bought and sold via the connected pay to play lawyer and their connected posse.
The case presentation that follows is an example of “Marry A Millionaire and Protect Your Assets”, because the Juvenile, Dependency, Family Courts across the US courts require skillful litigation and financial management for those who are forced into high conflict custody litigation.
A most neglected, poorly represented area of divorce litigation as dealt with in Family, or even Supreme court when it comes to dealing with divorce is division of marital assets. The attitude of the courts tend to be extremely punitive in cases where there is a complaint issued against one parent and a finding of a false allegation against the parent who has claimed (even correctly) abuse, of any sort. The court strategy appears as – shut down the case – “to the winner goes the spoils”; namely, all marital assets to the custodian of the children. We might also ad that the cost of winning comes with the cost of the slash and burn tactics of the legal team with greatest access to the ear of the court, as well as a willingness to stoop to the lowest, dirtiest tactics.
The FCVFC staff refer to Custody Litigation as the Wild, Wild West. Where there is no Sheriff to enforce justice, there is no justice.,as power, money and hired guns, often incompetent, unqualified, corrupt win, leaving the opposing party without assets to continue the fight as planned!
The statement of a client of the FCVFC left in such a position has lived to fight another day because of the services of the FCVFC. This article is about part of part one in our work together with a Protective Mother, who married a millionaire and was left childless, homeless and penniless, when her millionaire husband kidnapped her children and cut off all assets for her support. Part two will be about the success of winning against a criminal.
MY COMPLAINT AGAINST THE SARASOTA FAMILY COURT
I am a litigant in the Family Court of Sarasota, Florida since December 13, 2016. My case involves the abduction and final kidnapping of my four young children and the full and complete withdrawal of all forms of financial support that were part of my life through the 10.5 years of marriage to my spouse to whom I am still married.
The court has summarily denied me equal access to the law, to Due Process to any form of equitable distribution of marital assets. My husband, who vowed to leave me childless, homeless and penniless continues to make good on his threats with the complicity and full support of this court.
Judge Donna Padar Berlin was removed from my case based on multiple complaints of bias, malfeasance, suppression and manipulation of evidence. A Motion to Recuse the judge was filed, along with a well documented complaint, filed with the Presiding Judge.This court, under Judge Krug has continued a similar pattern of denial of access to fair hearings and Due Process. The judge who replaced the prior judge failed to provide meritorious emergency hearings. He allowed the superior forces in the form legal representationby the Curry Law Firm, to manipulate the system, via procedure, not law. The Curry law firm , equipped with multiple attorneys, paralegals, support staff, capable of turning out legal product and rapid response, to which I am unequal as a pro se litigant, attempted to subvert critical hearings. I am a person abandoned, stripped of all forms of support, without warning or preparation, unequipped to enter the workforce having been a homemaker and mother for more than ten years.
HISTORY OF ATTORNEY “REPRESENTATION”
I had an attorney who represented me, who left my case when I ran out of money, in the course of his having accomplished absolutely nothing. In fact, my attorney Peter Krotec, damaged my case in numerous ways.Mr. Krotec’s fees of approximately $100,000.00 are the subject of a charging lien which is accruing interest. The marital assets awarded for the inequitable sale of one marital property*, continue to not be addressed. Funds awarded for the sale of this property are unequal to the fees charged by Mr. Krotec, whose charging lien, filed by his firm, continues to grow as interest on the bill continues.
Mr. Krotec’s advice, and lack of advice have caused me to lose the one source of access to justice that would have saved myself and my children, which was the fact that the State’s attorney, William Sterbinsky, had begun to prosecute my case. I had no understanding whatsoever of the meaning and importance of making a record. As per bad advice, no advice and ongoing personal fear and trembling, motivated by desperation and hopes of some form of good will settlement, I ill-advisedly dropped charges against my husband. I allowed a child abuser, domestic violence abuser who made my life, the lives of my three children, born prior to my marriage the father of my four children born in the current marriage, to continue to perpetrate a fraud upon this court.
CHALLENGES TO PRO SE CLIENT SEEKING CRITICAL RELIEF FROM THE COURT
My husband is allowed to present multiple false statements, to which I am not allowed to respond because I have no forum and I am actively being blocked by this court, which allows no venue for pro se clients to be heard.
The limited instruction process afforded to pro se litigants that requires pro se clients to have access to computers and computer skills, access to printers and ink to be able to print out documents, as well as the emotional and intellectual capacity to focus, absorb and navigate the endless maze of court rules, documents and all attached to complex, high conflict litigation is equally inaccessible to me because of lack of funds, even for basic, fundamental life support. Had I not taken refuge in a marital asset property, I would have been completely homeless, destined to live in a shelter, or on the streets. I have no family able to assist me. The marital property has received no maintenance, been buffeted by storms, systems that needed repair have deteriorated, causing the degradation of the asset and the seriously questionable habitability of the property as a fit domicile.
I have no source of income to pay health insurance, car insurance, gas for my car, food, water, electric, lighting bills, clothing. When my husband departed our residence with our children, I took less than half of funds in our personal savings accounts, paid bills for our marital residence and then paid the law firm of Peter Krotec, who has continued to worsen my position daily.
I went to work at a nursing home, working from 10 PM to 6 AM at a fee of $10.00 per hour, as a nurses aid for patients with advanced Alzheimer’s disease. The nursing home is extremely poorly staffed. I was expected to deal with personal care – diaper changing, colonoscopy bag changing, bathing, toileting, feeding, medication dispensing care of demented patients, aimlessly disoriented and wandering around a locked ward. I am 5’1, 112 lb., and physically not strong enough or trained, to manually accomplish the tasks of transferring from bed to wheelchair, wheelchair to toilet, etc.. I was subject to seriously combative patients who in their delirium bit me, punched me, kicked me, swore at me. I was bruised, my back was injured.
The experience of watching these elderly patients die before my eyes was extremely disturbing.
My paycheck, after taxes amounted to about $215, per week, not enough money to pay my bills. I took on additional work as a babysitter (designated as a “nanny” position). I was paid irregularly in cash in amounts that varied, but never exceeded $100. Exhaustion and poor health finally caused me to be forced to find an alternate job. At a dry cleaning store.
Over the period of abandonment by my husband, he has continued to have me surveilled by private investigators sitting in front of my residence and then in front of the dry cleaner business that employed me for a total of two weeks. Dec. 21,2018, through Jan 7, 2019. An unknown woman came to the dry cleaner store on a day that I was not there asking questions about me, which the store provided. I called the police. I was fired from this next position which was to replace the nursing home position at which I could no longer function, physically and emotionally. I then had absolutely no funds for even the most basic necessities. I had to find another job, needed gas for my car for transport , as I live in an area with no public transport. I have no access to any form of assistance as I am married and credited with substantial assets, om record through my husband. I am still legally married, not even legally separated.
I am aware that my husband, as per his sworn testimony before judge Berlin has paid more than $400,000.00 in legal fees and an unknown amount of money in private investigator fees to leave me homeless, childless and penniless. Clearly his wishes are for my premature demise.
In addition to my husband’s ability to co-opt the cooperation of the court in denying me access to any hearings and attempting to delay pleadings re: access to money and children, until a court date set in March 2019, he has attempted to intimidate and interfere with my access to the Advocacy service of the Foundation for Child Victims of the family Courts, via the pronouncements of Judge Berlin and now via the aggressive tactics of his attorney, Cliff Curry.
The court has been denied, and has allowed me to be deprived of accessing documentation to demonstrate my husband’s massive destruction of my four young children. The children were described as having been suicidal, aggressive, poorly functioning in school months after his abduction of the children. My husband has continually, loudly, widely been trumpetting the message that I left home, I abandoned the children,and many other false allegations. I never left home, I never left him or the children, other than expressing great distress about the state of our marriage. I left his bed.
After weeks and then months of no contact with him, I filed police reports, I went to an attorney, I followed the direction of the attorney. The attorney offered no benefit. I went to the Sarasota Sheriff Department, who contacted the State’s Attorney’s office who then briefly sent my husband to jail for kidnapping my children.
My husband has paid for the testimony of those who falsely testified against me and has bribed and gained the cooperation of my oldest son, *who unwittingly facilitated the planned abduction of my children. My husband had previously conspired with his family to arrange for housing and school transfer at least one month prior to his departure. My oldest son calmed and soothed my children who were distressed by my absence. When they learned of my continued absence and were told that they could never see me again, with the suggestion that I abandoned them, they became acutely suicidal. Contrary to my husband’s cheerful reply to Judge Berlin, when she said, “How are the kids” and he said, “Just Fine”. My children were referred to Ravenwood Counselling by the local CPS as per referral from their newly registered school because of intense aggression and suicidal ideation and desires to seek out means of killing themselves. *
I was given access to records by Judge Berlin, who knew that I would rapidly be blocked from receiving a full set of records. My husband was the object of complaint by CPS.To protect his identity, the Prosecutor in Ohio blocked all but my access to records that I was immediately able to receive. I was able to briefly speak to Counselors at Ravenwood who expressed their understanding, articulated that they understood that I was a very good and loving mother and that the children spoke of me constantly and missed me terribly.
My husband blocked my access to those therapists. He blocked all access to my attempts to contact and speak with them even after I was given and told to schedule face time meetings with the children. His attorney, Cliff Curry, filed a Motion for SANCTIONS for having spoken with the children.*My husband, through his legal papers, have advanced a false narrative of how I am a detriment to my children, have abandoned them and how they all need to “heal”, to have my memory erased. Through his legal representation, ability to process legal filings he has blocked me from accessing the courts for emergency hearings, subjecting me to the toxic, biased rulings of Judge Berlin, turning the clock back two years, advancing Judge Berlin’s agenda of never having advanced my case in court allowing time for my husband to use his wealth to degrade my position in life, in the court and to further disable my children.
Judge Krug has further disabled my position by ordering a useless return to Mediation, already implemented, failed and unavailable to me because of the cost and the procedural maneuvers which are virtually impossible for me because of my need to work. The court does not allow evening hearings or evening access to filings. New jobs issue 90 day probations as requirements for full time positions. Probation requires absolutely no absence from work. Exactly how do I work, or even attempt to begin to support myself when I am faced with the incomprehensible choice of my life bare sustenance and a life for my children.
My older children have deeply suffered. They were left homeless and deprived of the emotional benefits of having their mother as well as the benefit of having a home. My oldest son who betrayed me by being tricked and lied to by my husband and then financially bought off by him,* must live his life knowing that he has participated in the destruction of his mother’s life and the lives of his siblings.
The Sarasota court and all of its minions are participating in the destruction of my children and myself. The Sarasota Court is facilitating fraud, larceny and deception. The Court continues to place my children in danger by avoiding knowledge of the circumstances under which my children actually live.
MOVING FORWARD
I know that I am not the only parent/ pro se litigant subject to such judicial legal discrimination, bias, malevolence and conscious malfeasance. There is relief from wrongful judicial action, as well as relief from the abuse of the opposition, which can be accessed via the implementation of law and applied legal process. I had to find that path and did so, once I reasonably recovered from the effects of the impact of my fairly immobilizing life circumstances.
The only words by which I can describe this dehumanizing experience is “INJUSTICE”. I therefore reported my complaints to every oversight body that funds, or fails to properly fund service to pro se clients, to provide oversight of judges, attorneys and the overall functioning of courts.
MY PRAYERS FOR RELIEF
I am seeking and pursuing all legal remedies afforded to me under law. I am immediately asking for an emergency hearing to review access to my children and alimony payments due to me. I have not received any alimony payments or had access to marital assets while my husband has been able to purchase another home, without access to funds from marital assets, to proceed against me with benefit of counsel, expert witnesses, the ability to apply his focus on growing and developing his already lucrative business.
The arrogance and ignorance of this court fails to understand what any even fundamentally reputable mental health professional would know is that a person who would act in the manner in which my husband has acted is an individual of callous, depraved, sadistic character, who should never be allowed to be in control of children. My husband has not been subject to a demand for mental health evaluation or drug screening.
REQUEST FOR MENTAL HEALTH/ ALCOHOL AND DRUG SCREENING EVALUATION FOR MY SPOUSE
I am requesting that my husband be subject to a full and complete evaluation process with emphasis on psychopathy scales and review under the guidelines of the HARE Personality Inventory Review for Psychopathic Personality Disorder. I will be happy to undergo the same form of evaluation or any evaluations by a team of experts such as I could afford and access if I were given access to marital assets of which I continue to be deprived.
I am again requesting an emergency hearing in order to have fair and equal access to the court. I am further requesting that Judge Krug recuse himself for failing to provide me with equal access to the the court, a fair and timely hearing and for maintaining in place the same destructive, biased orders put in place by Judge Berlin. These orders benefitted my husband and are continuing the suffering, failure of Due Process and equal access to the courts, first complained about as per the Recusal Motion against Judge Berlin..
I am a client of the Foundation For Child Victims Of The Family Courts.
I am many thanks, heartbroken for missing my children, relieved for being away from a very bad marriage. I am an “Expert By Experience” I am a pro se client and I have learned many skills. I appreciate being able to speak directly to the court, not having to pay or blame in utter frustration, an attorney who steals my strength, my voice, my ability to present evidence, to argue, to confront and to not feel helpless because I am a client of the Foundation For The Child Victims Of The Family Courts. I look forward to writing the next part of the story, related to reuniting with my children and building my new life.