To Whom It May Concern:
While I have no official standing in the court, I write as the mother of Justin Giron and the grandmother of daughter crawfish in hope that all parties involved in resolving the current court action brought against my son by his former wife ex crawfish will understand Justin’s position a bit more clearly.
Justin is an out-of-town father because his work involves national security and is located in the Washington, DC area. Despite the fact that he cannot be with her as much as he would if he lived in Chicago, he has continuously maintained a close relationship with daughter by:
–flying her to the Washington area four to six times per year since she was two years old. Until she was able to fly unaccompanied, Justin flew to Chicago and accompanied her both ways.
–using his entire annual vacation time for the custodial visits. He has never taken a vacation on his own.
–arranging for daughter to visit with this side of the family including her grandparents, aunts/uncles, and cousins. Since his brother Mark and his family live in New York, Jay takes her to see them at least twice a year. As a consequence, daughter has been able to form close and rewarding relationships with our family. daughter’s trips always include lots of Grandma time–sleepovers, shopping, etc.–for which i am grateful.
–providing her with a cell phone (for which he paid all charges) so that she can reach him any time she wishes. In addition to calling her dad, she uses the phone to call me for long chats throughout the year.
–paying for lessons/activities including horseback riding so that she has broader based experiences than she has had in Chicago
–providing a “good grade” incentive program which has been in place since she entered grammar school with full approval of her custodial parents
–initiating an injunction to stop her custodial parents from moving daughter out of the country to Hong Kong until he could be assured that his custodial rights would be met and that she would indeed be returned to the United States. The issue was resolved although he was only able to she his daughter twice during the 10 month period.
Justin is totally devoted to his daughter–he remains single and she is truly the light of his life. Sadly, she reached the teenaged years plagued by severe migraines that started while she was in Hong Kong and have continued. Some say it is the result of the dual stessedaughterrs of the international move (leaving all her friends and then having to re-enter her school society) and the fact that (according to her mother) there are marital issues between her mother and stepfather which may result in divorce. Last Thanksgiving, daughter came for her usual visit but she was clearly distraught and in pain. Nothing we did could soothe her–not even shopping. She had a disagreement with her father which, heartbreakingly, continues to this day. Justin tried his best but has been unable to cope with the emotions of a 15-year old girl. Even I can’t and I was one!
Regarding ex crawfish’s charge that Justin has been mentally unstable and “off his meds”: please know that he has a very sensitive government security position and has been performing well. Speaking personally, in my opinion, he has been stable and well.. On the other hand, ex was in fact off “her” meds that she takes for ADHD/bipolarity and, according to daughter, was wildly unpredictable and upset last summer and fall. She has failed to provide Justin with the documentation needed for him to meet his obligation to pay for 50% of the non-insured medical bills. Justin has provided full documentation of his attempts to obtain EOBs and other proofs of payment required by the insurance company to his attorney in an attempt to settle this lawsuit amicably.
In conclusion: Justin is high responsible, reliable and totally devoted to his daughter. I hope this statement provides a glimpse of the man he he his. Thank you for your attention.