"Every day, I give thanks to God, Erica Vasconcellos, and Greg Quimby!"
The day I met Erica Vasconcellos was one of the best days of my life. My husband and I are the paternal grandparents of Adrian. We were in desperate need of legal help in obtaining custody of my grandson, Adrian. His mother told us that she didn't want him and she left him with us when he was five months old. We pleaded with her to sign papers if she wanted us to have him, but she always had an excuse to put us off. So, I had already had him for a year and a half when his mother decided that she as going to take him back at the urging of her own mother. Prior to that, she had assured us again that she would sign legal custody over to us or even let us adopt him, I knew that she really didn't want him, since he kind of cramped her partying life style. She had already lost custody of her first son. Adrian was a special needs baby who needed a lot of TLC. It did take a lot of time and energy, day in and day out to care of him. My husband and I cared for him together, alternating nights, so that we could take turns sleeping.
The day his biological mother came to take Adrian back was heartbreaking. She had done so many times before when she would get upset with us but always brought him back after a few days saying that he was too much trouble, and he would never stop crying or vomiting, He had severe acid reflux. He would come back to us with the horrible diaper rash, and in desperate need of a bath. I knew he was abused and neglected every time that she took him, but I had no legal rights, YET. After she took him, I decided that it was time to do something, and got on the phone to several different attorneys. After finally deciding that Greg Quimby/Erica Vasconcellos seemed like my best option, I told them my story. Erica had me in her office the very next morning. That made me very happy. She immediately took my affidavit and filed Emergency Ex-Parte Motion. She filed in on July 22, 2004. We had Adrian back in physical custody that very same day, and we were granted legal custody but had to give the other parties visitation, every other week-end from Friday to Sunday. My grandson, Adrian would scream and cry and beg me not to make him go with them, but I had to follow the court order. As time went on, that did not work out well. Adrian was able to talk at that time, and could tell us what was going on. He would tell us that his maternal grandmother would pick him up from us and leave him at a baby-sitter that he didn't know or like. He told me that he would just cry for me all the time and that would make them angry. He would come home with bruises, which they would always try to explain away. One time, I had to take him to the hospital with a bruised forehead and a black eye, and the doctor confirmed a concussion. They told the judge that he fell while running. We could not prove otherwise, but we knew he was abused. He would come back to us on Sunday evening smelling like smoke, marijuana, etc. He was returned to me dirty, soiled, and hungry. That was the beginning of more problems. But my attorneys were persistent and filed contempt of court on them for not following the court order, three different times. During this time, my attorney, Erica Vasconcellos, was on maternity leave, I was very nervous about her not being able to represent me in court, but she said that her father, Greg Quimby would take the case. To tell you the truth, I really wanted Erica, but she was delivering twins so I felt like I didn't really have a choice. But Greg Quimby was yet another answer to our prayers. He knew exactly what he was doing. Greg saw me through all the court dates with great success! He actually had to correct the judge a few times and explain the law to her. Finally, the third time that we filed contempt charges and proving our case again, the Judge ordered supervised visitation at CASA for Adrian and his biological mother, I was truly grateful for that, knowing that he would be safe during visitation. That lasted for about seven months before his mother was suspended for breaking the rules and having many no-shows. CASA gave several warnings and were very lenient before finally suspending her.
Thanks to Greg Quimby and Erica Vasconcellos, we have full legal custody of our grandson, Adrian. He is now a bright, happy, content boy that gives us joy every day.
I highly recommend Greg Quimby and Erica Vasconcellos to any parent or grandparent that feels they need to step in for the best interest of the child. They will not stop until the correct legal measures are taken. They saw me through every step of the way, from beginning to end. And their paralegals are outstanding and very top notch. They always took every phone call, e-mail, etc. I could not ask for anything more. They thought of everything. It was truly professional, starting from the initial phone call, through the investigation, witnesses, mediations, restraining order, court hearings, etc. They are extremely capable, knowledgeable, aggressive, and I will never forget what they did for us and our grandchild. Every day, I give thanks to God, Erica Vasconcellos, and Greg Quimby!
Sincerely,
Diane V.