Real Stories:  People Helped by Administer Justice

Travis & Sid (guardianship)

Travis* adores his sister's daughter.  When his sister became homeless and said she couldn’t care for Moira any longer, Travis and his wife took the girl in.  In spite of the fact that they were living on a limited income, they scrimped and saved to provide for the child and give her a safe and comfortable environment. 

Some time later, Moira's mother changed her mind and wanted her daughter returned.  However, her situation hadn’t changed for the better: she still didn’t have a permanent residence, had men staying with her, and was struggling with substance abuse to both drugs and alcohol.  Travis realized he needed to do whatever it took to make sure Moira didn’t have to be exposed to such a dangerous situation. He was determined to do whatever he could to protect the child and look out for her best interests.

He came to our office and met with one of our attorneys to discuss the case. He needed to understand the process of petitioning for guardianship, and coaching on how to navigate through the legal system.  The attorney helped him prepare the necessary documents for court, and told him what to expect and how to ready himself for his appearance.  She also encouraged him, and supported him with prayer.  It’s a story with a happy ending: Travis prevailed and was appointed the legal guardian of Moira in December 2010.  He says it’s the best Christmas present he ever received.

(Client names are changed.)

Fred & Lois (tax controversy)

Fred* and his wife sat across from the attorney in tears.  With a shaking hand, he gave her an unopened letter from the IRS. He was too afraid to look at it himself.  It wasn’t the first letter he had received, but he decided it was the last straw. 

The storm that hit Fred’s life had been brewing for some time.  He was “downsized” by his company, and lost both his job and a substantial portion of the vesting for his pension.  He tried to start his own business.  In fact, he tried his hand at several business ventures that never really got off the ground.  His self-worth was at rock-bottom, and he became depressed. 

At this stage of life, he thought he would be treating Lois, his wife of 40 years, to exotic cruises.  Instead, they were sitting in our office facing several thousand dollars in overdue taxes and fines.  Our tax attorney assured them there was hope in the midst of these difficult circumstances and she intervened on their behalf with the IRS.  She got their returns filed, and had them placed in “currently not collectible” status while the matters were being resolved.

But the help did not stop there.  When they mentioned they took three buses to get to our office, our attorney told them about a local church’s car ministry.  Knowing how dire their living circumstances had become, she also provided a list of local food pantries and other social service agencies.  When they walked in the door, they were helpless and hopeless—when they left, they were empowered and had a plan. 

Maybe someday they can take that cruise after all.

Mary (spousal abandonment)

Mary's* life fell apart without warning when her husband walked out.  He filed for divorce, and had the financial means to hire an attorney to represent his interests.  Gloria, on the other hand, had had been a stay-at-home mom, with no other source of income other than what her husband had provided. 

Without the means to obtain an attorney,  she went to court on her own, sitting alone at the defendant’s table and clearly out of her depth.  With English as her second language, she found the proceedings confusing and intimidating.  She had no idea how to understand the complicated legal language of the paperwork. 

Her husband’s attorney was pressuring her to sign a Marital Settlement Agreement, refusing to explain it to her in detail, but assuring her that it was the “normal” thing to do.  Displeased with this attempt to intimidate and take advantage of Mary,  the judge halted the proceedings and said: Enough! The judge gave her our contact information, and told her to come see us before he heard the case.  He knew that Mary would receive compassion at Administer Justice, along with quality legal assistance.

We were able to provide Mary with an attorney who listened to her story, who helped her understand the terms of the proposed Marital Settlement Agreement, and who made sure this frightened and overwhelmed client’s rights were protected.  As the case proceeds, Mary sleeps better at night knowing there are people on her side who care about her.  She knows she can bring any paperwork to us and we’ll make sure her interests are protected. 

Consuela (Identity Theft)

Consuela* has been in the sites of the IRS for more than a decade.  They claimed she was not reporting income and owed almost $25,000.  Her social security number had been compromised and was being used by multiple people illegally, causing the IRS to believe she had several employers, instead of the only one she had actually worked for.  They have been adjusting her tax filings every year, taking the refunds she had coming, and now were preparing to garnish her wages.

She has been trying to clear this up for years, with no success.  Then, she came to us, and our LITC (Low Income Taxpayers Clinic) attorneys took up the cause.  Through LITC intervention, Consuela’s case was taken before the Chicago Tax Forum, and Consuela prevailed.  At this time, the IRS is not pursuing any collections activity against her - they are going after those who used her identity fraudulently, and as that money is recovered, it will be credited to her tax account!

Gretchen (Fraud Victim)

Gretchen was a good Samaritan.  An older neighbor had no family to care for her and Gretchen began helping her.  As the neighbor’s needs became greater and Gretchen took over cooking, cleaning, home maintenance, lawn care, transportation and bill paying, the two of them agreed on a small amount of compensation.  After nearly ten years the woman’s health deteriorated and she became disoriented.  Long lost relatives appeared on the scene and seeing checks written to Gretchen sued her for return of all the money paid to her over the years.

Gretchen is an older German immigrant with no resources to defend herself.  What could she do?  Her church referred her to us and following a trial, Gretchen was completely vindicated!    She was so grateful she began to volunteer her time at our office. “A profound heartfelt thank you, thank you, and thank you! Praise be to the Lord. I have  been stretched.” Gretchen. 

Annamaria (Employer fraud)

Annamaria came to this country from the Philippines.  Her husband had several health issues and she was so grateful to have a job with health care benefits.  Annamaria spoke very little English and could not understand the law suit served on her for unpaid medical bills. After investigating the matter it became clear that the employer was not paying the insurance and assumed Annamaria would have no way to challenge the matter.  We were able to intervene on their behalf and the employer agreed to pay the balance.  We were able to assist them with financial issues and provide them with some peace and security. “On behalf of our family, my wife and I, would like you to know how grateful we are on helping us resolve our case. We appreciated very much the effort you made to ease the everyday tension we suffered.” Juan and Annamaria

Deb & Kurt (Conciliation/Marriage)

Deb and Kurt were on the verge of divorce without help or hope when they found Administer Justice.  With the help of our conciliators they have restored hope and a restored marriage. “We believe that the true victory is not to divorce, or to stay in an unhealthy marriage.  The true victory is restoration.  That is God glorifying.”  Kurt and Deb. More than half of those who are willing to pursue our Christian conciliation services reconcile their relationships.  Kurt is now a trained conciliator helping others and Deb is pursuing training to join her husband.