Deborah Monique Turner

I hired Debra Turner to help with a custody case. She was my lawyer during a guardianship placement. She was very professional during the times we met at her office. She was very clear about my options. She was very thorough about taking on this case. She did a good job explaining the options that I... will be facing if I proceeded with this custody. This turned into be a difficult custody case as the child had some negative history and issue unruly and a host of family concerns. During this process, Turner, constantly provided me with outside courtroom conversations as it related to the case. I was informed by her that the judge would not grant full custody because of the situation that this kids has been involved with. However, she is willing to give me custody for a year and if it works out then we can move forward and I would not have to do anything. The judge was afraid of the dynamic of my current family and the kid coming into it. Turner assured me that this will work out for the better because you do not have to be committed permanently. I said great, I will let my husband and family know and let you know how to proceed. We meet again at the courthouse and I was ready to go feeling better that I may have an out if this goes wrong. After everything was said and done the magistrate asked if I fully understand what my lawyer explained and I responded "yes". Nine months after the proceeding, I contact Turner to explain that it was not working and we needed to contact the magistrate and what I heard next knocked the wind out of me. Turner, responded to me yelling and screaming that she had no idea of what I was talking about and that I was stuck with him til 18. I was so torn up I did not know what to do. I did not know what to tell my husband nor family. I waiting a few weeks and contacted her again. I explained when and where this conversation took place. She exclaimed that it would be against the law for anyone to give you temporary custody. She said that this conversation never took place, that she never told me any such thing. I provided her with a narrated script of her words and she insisted that this was not said and I was making this up. Since this was a private custody there was nothing she could do. I continued to explain and she just shouted that the only way to free myself would be to file a motion and I have someone else take the kid. Then she later stated that if this was through the courts that this is what would happened but because I did private this does not apply. I informed her that what she just stated was what she had stated to me outside the courtroom. I am not fighting to provide a different placement for the kid other than with my family. As I was new to courtroom proceedings, outside conversations, and what is all included and not included in journal entries. I did not know that these private conversations should never be private. Always have more than one person with you, I had one other person and it did not matter. I would advise people to make sure everything is in writing. And the most important lesson I learned is to go back over the journal entry with your attorney after everything has concluded. The journal entry is very vague and limited. I also found out that it would cost me thousands of dollars to get a copy of the court manuscript.