After leaving a violent relationship with her son’s father, Beatrice* came to LACLJ to secure custody of her son. For years, she had suffered physical, emotional and verbal abuse, and now her son’s father sought to keep Beatrice from her child.
Since leaving the violent relationship, Beatrice had sought to create more stability and structure for her son. She had found a clean, comfortable home and consistent childcare to provide support while she worked. Despite her efforts to move forward, her son’s father continued to fight her, resulting in a contentious custody dispute during which he made several false accusations to the court. Meanwhile, Beatrice feared for her son’s safety when he was with his father and was particularly concerned about her son’s possible exposure to drugs.
LACLJ Attorney Erika Diaz convinced the court to grant Beatrice sole physical and legal custody of her son and limited the father to supervised visits. As a result, Beatrice can now provide her son the stability he needs to thrive, and she can live more peacefully with the knowledge that she is legally protected from her former abuser’s attempts to undermine her bond with her child.
* Client’s name has been changed for confidentiality.
