Brenda Towne

We must restore parents’ rights to fair trials with levels of evidence when the future of their family hangs in the balance. This must be done by aligning family cases to the appropriate court. In 2018 my family was changed forever. False allegations of horrific domestic violence and abuse used by a soon to be ex-wife. There was no evidence nor any family history, but allegations were used to remove my grandchildren from my son’s home and create an unlevel playing field for future custody and child support determination in family court. The 4 young children were kept from our entire family while we were faced to fight back through family courts where evidence is optional and due process does not exist. In our case, the allegations of abuse were determined to be false during a restraining order hearing within days of the first allegations but this had no weight in family court. Testimony with no evidence was used to build the narrative of abuse to determine custody. A judge would decide without due process whether this father would be able to raise his own children on allegations – not evidence- of abuse. This is outrageous not only for our family but for the thousands who have faced this same fate. The financial incentives to keep the fight in family court going were huge. My son, a disabled veteran faced $50,000 in legal fees just to get his own kids back in his into life. This did not include the costs of GALs and counselors. His ex-paid $75,000. Who wins when $125,000++ is given to attorneys when fighting in family court? Certainly not the children. My son lost his home and had to file bankruptcy. This is the wreckage left behind in the current system. Unfortunately, this is typical and worse, it is understood this if happening by those who can fix it. Our entire family spent hours in front of judges without due process- listening to false statements taken as evidence in determining our fate. This experience drove me to become an advocate for parents. I sat in on hundreds of hours of family court hearings, spoke to hundreds of parents, wrote legislation and saw the power of misplaced financial incentives and lack of due process ruin the lives of parents and families. Reform is way overdue. We must give parents due process, uncouple financial incentives and restore sanity to the families and children in New Hampshire . You have the power to fix this. Please support HB652-FN. Our kids are counting on you.