After 30 years of marriage and two children who are now adults, *Maria wanted to get a divorce. Her husband had been mentally and verbally abusive, she said, and it was inflicting damage on her emotional health and well-being.
 
“I was emotionally depressed due to abuse,” said Maria.
 
She was a cancer survivor with a lot of the abuse occurring during the time of her ordeal. Her husband told her that she was worthless, she recalled, and that he hoped she would die. He called her “crazy.”
 
Maria realized that she couldn’t be in that situation anymore. However, she also couldn’t afford a lawyer. On top of that, when her husband found out that she wanted a divorce, he threatened to relocate to Japan. Maria needed a lawyer ASAP before her husband left the country.
 
Good thing she found out about Legal Aid and that we offer free civil legal services to low- and moderate-income individuals like her.
 
In June 2023, Legal Aid Staff from our Family Law Unit quickly processed all of Maria’s papers to file a motion for Pre-Decree Relief.
 
A motion for Pre-Decree Relief is used “to request temporary relief while a divorce case is pending.” In Maria’s case, she wanted to ask for spousal support.
 
“When she first contacted us, she was very worried. She wanted a divorce but her husband was threatening to leave her without the support she needed. That is why she came to us,” said Legal Aid Paralegal Trisha Warner. “She’s retired and living on a fixed income. She also had some savings she was living on but she needed spousal support to fill in the gap.”
 
With the joint effort of Trisha and Legal Aid Family Law Managing Attorney Makia, the papers were served to Maria’s husband before he left Hawaii in August.
 
At the hearing, the judge agreed that the spousal support was something Maria needed. Her motion for Pre-Decree Relief was approved!  
 
“Legal Aid helped me to get all necessary information, with kind words and reassurance, which was a comfort to me,” said Maria. “They explained procedures clearly with speedy responses regarding my questions. Their documents were quick and accurate. I was particularly impressed with the professionalism of Makia and Trisha. I got good caring advice.”
 
Relieved with her first victory, Maria is currently gathering more information and documents as she gets ready to pursue her divorce.
 
“Maria really needed that assistance. It was good to be able to help her. She was very happy and thankful,” said Trisha. “She was thankful that Makia and I listened to her story and gave her the guidance she needed.”

*Florence is 80 and she recently became a “mother” to two teenage boys.
 
This senior grandmother found herself battling to protect her two grandkids, ages 13 and 15, from an abusive situation. Her son, sadly, had been the source of harm.
 
The youngest of the boys is in middle school, the eldest in high school. Since they were born, they had lived in two homes - with their parents on weekdays, their grandparents on weekends.
 
After the boys disclosed the abuse that was happening in their home, the court approved a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against their father and mother, who were having drug problems and mental health issues.

Their dad did not feed them some days; a can of beans was all they had for a week. The abuse was not only physical, but also emotional. The boys were afraid of their parents, especially their father.

Eventually, the eldest dropped out of school due to anxiety. The Court ultimately granted an Order for Protection (“OFP”) that will last until the boys turn 18 years old.  
 
The next best step was guardianship. This was when Florence and her husband *Robert, heartbroken and scared for their grandchildren, reached out to Legal Aid for help in April 2023.
 
“With the OFP in place, the parents can’t take care of the kids. They are left with no legal guardian,” said Legal Aid Attorney Jamie DeMello, who represented them in court. “The guardianship fell on Florence and Robert because the children’s two older siblings who are in college didn’t have the capacity to take care of them.”
 
The boys’ parents disapproved, however. They wanted the OFP removed in exchange for the guardianship. Or else, place the children in foster care.
 
“They came to the hearing and asked the judge to deny the petition for guardianship,” said Jamie. “The judge told them an OFP already exists, they can’t even take care of the children. The OFP is in effect until they turn 18.”
 
After the first hearing, mediation took place to resolve the issues, but it was unsuccessful.

In the second hearing, the judge approved and granted the guardianship to Florence and Robert!

“They were both really relieved. They were happy to tell the boys the good news,” said Jamie. “Initially, when we came out of the courtroom, Florence kept crying because she can’t believe that her son would rather have the kids go to foster care. We had the sheriffs walk the couple to their car because their son was threatening them.”

If the petition for guardianship had been denied, the children would have been without a legal guardian and Child Welfare Services (CWS) would be involved. 

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to argue at both hearings, have the clients testify, and to think on my feet,” said Jamie. “Meeting the boys helped me explain to the court why the guardianship is important. Part of my job is to put something in place so that they are safe and protected. I’m also grateful that I had the opportunity to work with the couple. They were kind and gracious and had good questions.”

“We’re old but we’re here to do it,” Florence had told Jamie after the case closed. “We are ever grateful for Legal Aid’s assistance with our guardianship. We are on our way to healing.”

The boys are now undergoing therapy and doing much better. They are receiving support from their community. The oldest returned to school; the youngest got some cooking equipment and is making special ramen for the family. He wants to be a chef someday.

“These are the cases that I came to Legal Aid to do - the successful outcome makes a difference in people's lives,” said Jamie. “But it’s not going to be all rosy and cheery. In this one, you have a family that is being broken apart even more than they had in the past. So, it is bittersweet.”