“Get a job, you lazy freeloader!” my husband yelled, throwing a newspaper in my face just weeks after I gave birth. I stayed silent, but secretly pulled our bank statements. When I saw where our $90,000 savings went, I smiled, called my attorney, and prepared a surprise that would ruin him…

and a forensic division of all marital assets. In my filings, I explicitly requested that parental visitation be heavily structured and monitored. I refused to use my son as a punitive weapon, but I was equally determined to ensure Fabian and Samara could never use him as leverage against me again.

The legal machinery ground forward slowly, culminating continue reading …