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HELP! Need to find an organization that provides free legal asst. or referrals for such services.?

I have two childern which I have raised on my own for the past 8 years with no child support from my husband.. I never had the extra money to get a lawyer for a divorce, therefore I never was givien custody of my babies. So in on May 6th 2005 my husband decided he want to be a dad now and he took off with my babies.. I live in Oklahoma and he lives in Florida. I was making payments to a lawyer in Oklahoma and was in the process filing for divorce and custody, when I went to Florida to see my children for christmas. When I was there he had me served with divorce and shared custody papers. This is where I have become desperate. I can not afford to pay another lawyer in Florida, and the Legal Aid Services of Florida can not provide the services I need because I do not live there. My children want to be home and I die a little more everyday, because I can't bring them home. I thank you for reading this question and for any information you could give in this matter.

Public Comments

1. That is really sad. Try looking in the yellow pages they have free information in the legal section. You can call a few places and they can tell you what you need to do or how you can pay. Maybe you can post this same information on www.Craigslist.com in your state. I see people offer help to each other like that in many other states. Hopefully you will find a non-profit organization or law student who can offer some free leagal advive. Goodluck!
2. Any local attorney will be willing to give you a free consultation and can help you to find an afforable attorney and even work with you to get affordable payments. Good luck. If he took your kids to Florida without your permission then you should press kidnapping charges against him.
3. You may have already tried this, but the Oklahoma Bar Association has a low/no cost legal services program and may be able to help you. Go to http://www.okbar.org/public/services/service.htm Alternatively, The Florida Bar has a web site that has useful information about low/no cost services. Go to http://www.floridalawhelp.org/FL/index.cfm You can also find out information about a Florida divorce at http://www.floridabar.org/tfb/TFBConsum.nsf/48e76203493b82ad852567090070c9b9/50c0b911a9cb28fd85256b2f006c5ba9?OpenDocument Custody battles are always difficult, for everyone concerned. I do not practice family law, a very specialized area, but I can tell you that the Courts are only concerned with what is in the best interest of your children. I would encourage you to take an objective look at your life, and the life that your children are now living, and try to view the situation as if you were a Judge who knew nothing about the past, and did not care about your own feelings concerning the father of your children. For example, when you say that your husband took "my babies," the Judge is likely to think that your husband took "his babies" too. With no court order awarding you custody, the Judge is likely to view you on equal footing at this point with respect to who should have custody of the children. In other words, your rights, and your husband's rights, are equal. You must demonstrate that it is in the best interest of your children to live with you, not that you have any greater right to your children than your husband. Regardless, be sure that whoever you select practices primarily family law. And above all, stay cool, it will not help you, or the children, to become desparate, or do anything that might otherwise harm your chances of obtaining custody of your kids. Hope that helps, at least a little. Best of luck.
4. Danalagy offers good advice. I offer only a few additional comments. First, contact the lawyer referral service of the county bar association where your husband lives. Most lawyers will offer at least a 30-minute consultation for free. Some bar associations also have a "modest means" program offering discounted fees. Second, some states have laws that allow the courts to shift the burden of paying attorney fees to the party best able to pay. This is for exactly the reasons you have encountered: so one spouse cannot completely control all the finances and get a lawyer while leaving the other party w/o representation.. Finally, ask your current lawyer if he/she knows someone in Florida that can help you.