Kelly and Dan McIntosh -- Syracuse, NY

Written by: Adam Sege

It’s not an easy question for a parent to ask, but Dan McIntosh knew he had to.

“Do you want to live with Daddy,” he asked his daughter, “Or do you want to live with Mommy?”

For fifteen year old Kelly McIntosh, the choice was painful but clear.  Her mother had moved out and stopped talking with Kelly.  She had also been abusive.  Kelly told her father she wanted to live with him.

Dan was concerned, however, that his health issues might get in the way of gaining legal custody.  “To be honest with you, in certain ways I didn’t think I had a strong case,” he says.

But during one of Kelly’s medical appointments, a doctor asked whether Dan had legal custody.  The doctor, who had been trained to screen for underlying social factors, knew that without custody Dan was unable to make important authorizations about Kelly’s care.

The doctor referred him to the Children’s Rights and Family Law Clinic.  There, under the supervision of attorneys Kelly Gonzalez and Suzette Melendez, law students Tashia Thomas and Katherine Lawler started helping Dan prepare his custody case.

Because Dan is disabled, the legal team met with him at his home, which meant a lot to him.  “They treat you just like a human being,” he says. “Just like family.”

When the case went to court, “they did all of the talking,” Dan says.  And most importantly, the team delivered results:   Dan now has full custody of his daughter.

After closing the custody case, the Children’s Rights and Family Law Clinic helped Dan find legal assistance for writing a will.  The clinic has also taken on Dan’s divorce case.

“It’s working out real good,” says Dan. “I would recommend them to anybody.”