Most people do not realize that the legal system and family court provides a way for a toxic person to continue to abuse you, even after a divorce is finalized.
In this workshop, we’ll teach you what litigation abuse is, so that you know what to do when it occurs, and how to cope with your situation as it’s happening.
We include expert advice in our interview with the legal director of DV Leap, a Washington DC organization that takes cases where an abuse victim has been wrongfully denied justice. Our “Survivor Story” also includes an interview with “N,” who talks about her years-long custody battle in family court, and how she’s managed to cope.
To anyone stuck in the legal system with a high-conflict partner, your situation can feel hopeless, especially as we expect court to be a place of justice!
In this workshop, we cover why legal abuse exists, how courts are used to an abuser’s advantage, and what you can do from the get-go to minimize the damage to yourself and your family as much as possible.
With this workshop, you’ll discover how toxic people use the legal system to drain you financially and emotionally, and what you can do to protect yourself while getting the support you need, every step of the way.
Introduction
Why This Topic?
What Litigation Abuse Is
Why Does Litigation Abuse Exist?
Journal Prompt #1
What Does Litigation Abuse Look Like? Part 1
What Does Litigation Abuse Look Like? Part 2
Journal Prompt #2
Lisa & Chris' Journal Prompt Responses
Documentation
Discovery
How Abusers Use Discovery
Working Effectively with Your Attorney
Journal Prompt #3
Potential Penalties
What to Do When Litigation Abuse Occurs
How to Pay for it All
Recouping Your Money
The Courts Themselves
How to Cope - Part 1
How to Cope - Part 2
Journal Prompt #4
Lisa & Chris' Journal Prompt Responses
Financial Abuse & Recovery
Wrapup & Goals Review
Interview: Sasha from DV LEAP
Survivor Story: Naomi
Journal Prompts Worksheet
Workshop Notes
Workshop Goals & Transformation
Workshop Slides
How Abusers Use the Courts Against Their Victims - Jessica Klein, The Atlantic
When Domestic Violence Becomes Financial Abuse – Ingrid Freer, The Establishment
Abusive Litigation and Domestic Violence Survivors - LegalVoice.org
One More Battleground - Mary Przekop, Seattle Journal for Social Justice
Attorney Jim Nolletti on How People Hide Assets
Lisa & Chris: "The Recovery Couple"
Lisa Johnson
My toxic marriage lasted for nearly two decades, and I had no idea what I was actually dealing with until after I got out!
I am a state-certified domestic violence advocate and trained crisis counselor, with a background in education. I was able to use these skills to successfully represent myself in court for the past few years since the divorce, battling an ex who has disobeyed multiple court orders without consequence (yet!).
Even though I live the “warrior” lifestyle, I’ve managed to balance that with sole parenting my two nearly adult children, running a business in fashion, and loving life with Chris, who makes me laugh more than anyone.
Chris Barry
I was with a severe malignant narcissist for 14 years and still need to deal with her because we have two teenagers together. That's the bad news.
The GOOD news is that I'm out, and with firm boundaries in place, have very little contact with my ex. Best of all, I've found true love with Lisa and can model a healthy relationship for all of our kids.
Today, Lisa and I are dedicated to offering hope, guidance, and community to others struggling with toxic relationships so they can find the strength they need to sanity back and get out faster, cheaper, and with less pain.
How much time are you already spending on worrying, arguing, Googling your partner's irrational behaviors, and losing sleep? Each of our course modules is divided into bite-size chunks, which you can listen to at your convenience (usually totaling less than two hours.)
We got through it on our own, but we suffered unnecessarily along the way. Our goal in launching this program is to use our expert knowledge to get you through it a lot faster, cheaper, better, and with less pain than if you try to do it on your own.
Not yet, but the learning platform that BTGO's Sanity School is built on is fully responsive for mobile devices and should offer a great learning experience on any device.
There's a ton of free information available on the internet, some good, some not so good. We strive to do the best job of cutting through all the noise and giving you the most helpful guidance and support that you'll find anywhere. This is a full-time effort for us, and we simply need to earn an income from it. With all of that said, we feel that our workshops are priced very reasonably and affordably, and are a great value.
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