A 70 year old Hawaiian Grandmother is raising her teenaged and preteenaged adopted grandson, and her grandniece and grandnephews, of whom she is legal guardian. Because their parents are unable to do the job.

Making matters worse, this Grandmother recently suffered a stroke that left her dependent on a wheelchair to get around.

She manages to care for the kids, with her 18 year old grandson’s help.

But she worries about child protective services removing the children if she can’t take care of them.

She gets by with public assistance, but would welcome additional assistance, especially for a larger vehicle to accommodate her wheelchair.

Legal Aid of Hawaii offers grandparent seminars on child protective services, adoption and guardianship, complete with free resource kits.

Read more in these Honolulu Advertiser articles: Grandmother needs help with 4 kids she’s raising and Seminars set for grandparents raising grandkids.

South African Husband doesn’t want divorce.

Wife does, and requests that Husband leave the marital home.

Husband tires to press adult daughter to talk Wife out of divorce – or into waiting.

Husband finally agrees to divorce.

Husband has gun in pocket during final conversation with Wife.

Wife tries to disarm Husband.

Wife is shot and killed.

Police interrogate Husband.

Husband’s “defense” appears to be that Wife only wanted a divorce because “it was that time of the month”, and she would have come to her senses in time.

Read more in this South African Independent Newspaper article: Murder accused believed wife wanted divorce.

Israeli Husband and American Wife marry. Husband and Wife have two Daughters together and live in US.

Husband and Wife divorce. Husband and Wife have shared parenting but Husband is the primary residential parent and Wife has visitation.

Husband absconds with Daughters to Israel – allegedly to evade a criminal trial in the US on charges of drug possession.

Wife sought an emergency modification of custody in the US and was successful in obtaining a modified award of sole custody of the Daughters.

Wife then filed an application for return of Daughters to the US in accordance with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

Husband’s response was that returning Daughters to Wife would put them at grave risk because of Wife’s abuse of drugs and alcohol and history of neglect of Daughters.

Husband further stated that Daughters preferred to live with Husband in Israel because they had more stability with him.

The presiding Israeli family court judge appointed a therapist to evaluate Daughters and met with Daughters himself.

The therapist concluded that Daughters would not be at risk with Wife in the US. The judge felt that Daughters had been brainwashed by Husband.

Accordingly, the Israeli Court ordered the return of Daughters to the US.

Read more in this Israel News article: Israeli who abducted daughters from US to return them home.

Florida Father’s parental rights to Son are terminated, without his knowledge.

Because Father’s name is common, DCF doesn’t try very hard to find him and notify him, which is required by law.

The only notification that the Department of Children and Families (DCF) gives him is through a notice published in the legal classifieds section of the newspaper.

Son goes into foster care, along with his half-sister.

Father brings claim against DCF for wrongfully “restraining” Son in foster care, where he is abused by his foster parents. Father loses.

Father appeals. Father also loses appeal, for lack of reversible error, because there is no “abuse of discretion”.

But appeals court nonetheless takes DCF to task for not trying harder to locate Father before terminating his parental rights and comments that “[d]ue process of law should never be disregarded” and that parental rights are constitutionally protected.

Eventually, Son’s foster parents are convicted of aggravated child abuse of Son and his half-sister.

Now Son sues DCF for the abuse he suffered because of DCF’s negligence.

And Father also sues DCF, alleging that the agency violated his civil rights. Father’s case largely rests on the appellate court ruling in his previous case.

Read more in this Tampa Tribune: Hernando Today article – Father Follows Son In Suing DCF.

Mother and two Children all live in North Dakota, as does Father.

Mother has custody and Father has visitation.

Mother is found in contempt of court for denying Father access to Children.

Mother absconds with Children to Indian reservation in South Dakota – and fails to appear at modification of custody hearing in North Dakota.

North Dakota Court awards custody of Children to Father.

Mother appeals North Dakota modification of custody.

North Dakota Supreme Court dismisses Mother’s appeal under the “fugitive dismissal rule”.

It is generally not helpful to one’s cause to simply not show up for a trial. Nor to abscond with children in an attempt to circumvent an existing court order or an anticipated court order.

Read more in this [Bismarck, ND] KFYR-TV 5 article: ND Supreme Court Bars Appeal in Child Custody Case.

Father of Milwaukee children allegedly doesn’t pay child support for some time. Approximately $128,000 worth of child support.

Father goes to jail. For a time.

Then Father gets released on probation. One of the conditions of his probation is … that he pay his support … or go back to jail.

After Father is released, he allegedly stops paying child support again. But he doesn’t go back to jail.

Because the government can’t find him. But reporters find him, in Illinois, at the same address he has had for years.

Based on the reporters’ tip, law enforcement arrests Father again. Father now reportedly owes $200,000 in child support arrearages.

There is no indication that Father is unable to pay child support. But, apparently, he doesn’t want to.

Father may return to jail … again … and, perhaps, again.

Read more in this TMJ TV 4 Milwaukee news article: I-Team: Deadbeat Dad James Bartley.

Upstate New York Man gets order of protection against former girlfriend (Woman).

But, as is too often the case, it allegedly does not deter Woman.

Woman maneuvers Man into a bathroom and threatens him.

Woman is arrested for criminal contempt of an order of protection and a civil violation of harassment.

Woman is jailed for lack of bond.

Moral: Women have orders of protection entered against them too. Women violate orders of protection against them too.

Read more in this Glen Falls [NY] Post Star article: Woman charged with violating protective order.