July Success Story
“James” and his wife, “Abby”, were dealing with a desperate situation regarding their niece, “Kali”, who had been living with them since she was 13 - now 16 years old. They were not able to obtain health insurance coverage for Kali or to take her to a doctor or dentist without a court order of guardianship. This would not have been a problem had Kali’s mother been willing and able to work with James and Abby to obtain these necessities. Unfortunately, Kali’s mother (“Mary”), was in the grips of substance abuse addiction. Kali’s father was deceased.
Before Kali began living with James and Abby, she was living with her mother in sub-standard housing with no running water or electricity in the back yard of one of her mother’s boyfriends’ house. Kali lived in such stress and fear that even at the age of 13 she was deathly afraid of the dark, and she slept with a knife under her pillow. James knew that in addition to obtaining health care for Kali, he needed to protect her from the prospect of returning to this chaotic and dangerous environment.
James contacted the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society and spoke with Jonathan Stewart about a guardianship for Kali. Jonathan hoped the case would be uncontested but that was not to be. Mary would not sign a consent to the guardianship even though Kali continued to reside with James and Abby 100% of the time.
Because Mary would not consent to the guardianship the court had to put the case on the contested docket, which caused the case to drag out longer than it otherwise would have. The court appointed a Guardian ad Litem to speak with all parties involved and additional individuals who knew of Kali’s experience with her mother. The higher level of scrutiny afforded to the case meant a great deal more attorney work.
In the end, Kali’s mother did not show up for the final court hearing, so the guardianship was granted by default. Even so, James would never have been able to get to that finish line if not for the existence of the Indianapolis Legal Aid Society. Dependent on Social Security Disability since congenital heart disease forced him to stop working, James would not have been able to afford the retainer to start a guardianship case, let alone the $5000 to $6000 necessary to complete a contested guardianship. The Indianapolis Legal Aid Society completed the case for James without any attorney fees.
This year Kali attended her prom and wore a beautiful dress that James and Abby bought for her. She works at McDonald’s and keeps all the money she makes to help in her goal of buying a car.
