Legal Knowledge Is Your Best Defense

We have a major problem in America! If you haven't experienced it yet, statistically speaking, you or your children probably will in generations to come. It's time to stand up and demand change!

The United States is the most litigious country in the world, with a court system that impacts billions of dollars in U.S. spending. Two-thirds of the total American population will encounter issues with the U.S. legal system. One in three households in America becomes involved in family court, and 90% of these Americans in family court are without an attorney because they cannot afford legal fees. Less than 1% of Americans are licensed lawyers who  are responsible for these statistics.

According to the Family Preservation Foundation, 437,283 American children were removed from their parents last year. Federal reports state that over 9 million children have been separated from their parents in the United States. The Children's Rights organization reports that one in 100 American children will experience termination of parental rights (“TPR”) by the age of eighteen.

The New York Times reports that hundreds, and possibly as many as 1,000, children born to immigrant parents in the United States were removed from them at the border. Vera.org states that in fiscal year 2021, a record 122,000 children were taken into U.S. custody without their parents. But far too many of them could have safely been released to other family members or appropriate settings.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation reports that the latest data show that 214,542 children and youth exited foster care in 2021 and just under half (47%) were reunited with their parent or primary caretaker. NBC News found that nationally, the parents of about 327,000 children lost their rights from 2015 to 2019.

Human Rights Watch states that on average, across the United States, 700 children are removed from the custody of their parents every day based on allegations of abuse or neglect. Custody loss rates for parents with mental illness range as high as 70-80 percent. Why should any American seek help for a mental illness when U.S. Courts are using mental illness as a means to take children from parents?

Attorney and mother Catherine Kassenoff died by suicide due to the U.S. family court system and unfair divorce and custody proceedings Court proceedings that led to these findings are mostly composed of parents without representation. If 90% of these family court parents do not have a lawyer. Yet, the judiciary continues to restrict the public from access to affordable legal option. How can findings such as mental illness, neglect,…. really be the truth of who these parents are or could they be a result of Americans who became victims to the U.S. legal system?

Americans are without proper knowledge to navigate the U.S. legal system when over 90% of family court litigants are pro se because of inability to pay lawyer rates. The U.S. only allows a small fraction to obtain the true knowledge to navigate the U.S. legal system.

The ScienceDirect also revealed that 13.4% of parents (or 9.03% of the entire sample) have been alienated from one or more of their children. The Joshi Attorneys report that Bernet (2008) found that 10% of children (7.4 million) in the United States live with divorced parents and 10% of these (740,000) are involved in parental alienation situations. The Harbor Mental Health states that the newest statistics even tell us that 11-15% of high-conflict divorces lead children to parental alienation. The Psychology Today reports that Baker and Darnall (2010) estimate that about 1 percent of children and adolescents in North America experience parental alienation. The Tennessean that 11% to 15% of divorced couples with children involve parental alienation. About 1% of all children in this country experience parental alienation. This is the same percentage of lawyers working in the U.S.

Parents are losing their children while trying to navigate a system that cannot provide them access to lawyers due to costs and availability. Yet, the U.S. refuses to provide a legal education to the general public, to understand how to navigate our legal system, should they be forced to represent themselves. Additionally, the legal profession itself takes actions to restrict Americans from adorable alternatives to legal help, by penalizing anyone with a felony, who might have legal knowledge to assist, but has not been given clearance by a State Bar to hold a license. U.S. Family, Dependency, & Guardianship Courts are a system made to fail. And so many wonder, why the public is getting fed up.

Do not be so quick to think you might not be the next victim of the U.S. legal system. If you are not affected with your children, you or a family member have a high chance of being affected in your elder years.

The National Council on Disability estimated in 2018 that about 1.3 million Americans were under guardianship arrangements, and studies suggest that the number has been growing rapidly, more than tripling over the past three decades. The AARP reports that an estimated 1.3 million adults are under guardianship in this country, perhaps 85 percent of them over 65.

The National Core Indicators states that states also vary significantly in the proportion of people who have partial guardianship and full guardianship—from 0.0% to 25.2% of respondents in partial guardianships. The American Progress reports that the NCI average in 2018–2019 was 33 percent of individuals in full guardianships and 6 percent in limited guardianships.

The National Core Indicators also reports that the proportion of respondents with guardians varied by state and ranged from 14.6% to 86.4%. The Pew Trusts reports that throughout the 33 states in which minor guardianship case filing data was available, an average of 4% of children (1 in 25) in nonparental care were in guardianships. These statistics provide some insight into the prevalence of guardianships in the United States.

More concerning is the States failure to keep statistics on guardianship abuse in their state. Therefore, finding much statistical data on this is limited. However, what was found is the Office of Justice Programs found that forty percent of the cases lacked current required reports, meaning that the court was uninformed about the well-being of the individual or how the guardian was exercising their authority. The Forbes reports that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found hundreds of allegations of physical abuse, neglect and financial exploitation by guardians in 45 states and Washington, D.C. over 20 years. Why is the States not tracking this data?

The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging reports that incidents of fraud include draining retirement funds of people under guardianship by their guardians, selling of assets such as homes by guardians, and other financial exploitation. The Wisconsin Bar Association reports that the ward's estate may be charged for both the guardian's fee and necessary and reasonable attorney's fees. The Government Accountability Office reports that a professional guardianship agency responsible for 59 incapacitated wards was found to have committed. “persistent and repeated” guardianship exploitation.

Clearly, there are major problems affecting the American public and the States are doing nothing to help this problem. The Federal Government can only assist if an issue concerns a Federal Regulatory Power or the violation of a Federal Law. This book will break down the dynamics behind why the Judicial Branch, the lawyers & judges continue to play the leading role in the problems so many American face today and proposes how we can truly resolve this problem. However, it takes the public coming together, whether affected or not, to stand up for Justice for the American People. Reform the State Branch of Government who is making these decisions. REFORM THE JUDICIARY!