A Francesca and Hawk Divorce Update

Francesca and Hawk have a 10-month-old son named Wayden as part of their divorce proceedings. But Francesca believes her husband is trying to gain full custody of him by falsely accusing her of domestic violence and calling the police every time there’s an argument between them. She fears for their family’s safety due to his reputation as a “sociopath,” someone who cannot be trusted.

Francesca and David separated in April 2016, and Francesca filed for joint physical custody of their two daughters. Additionally, she sought an adjudication of their property rights, debts and child support payments.

Shawn offered conflicting testimony about whether it had been him or Francesca who had provided the primary care for his daughters. He claimed to have lived in Togiak most of their lives, while Francesca had been living in Anchorage.

He testified that he had spent much of his life fishing on the water. As such, he would be well-known with the area surrounding Togiak Peninsula where their daughters attended school.

Francesca testified that she had been the primary caregiver for most of the girls’ lives, yet denied living there forever. After she and Shawn moved to Anchorage, Francesca claimed they began living there full time; nonetheless, Francesca expressed a desire to return to Togiak someday.

She further claimed that she had paid for Lot 5, Block 5 with her own funds and her name wasn’t on the deed for that property. According to her assertions, she intended to construct a house on the lot, which would then be valued at $70,000 after improvements are made.

But the superior court determined that Francesca failed to provide any proof of how she and Shawn paid for Lot 5, Block 5. Therefore, it did not appear Francesca had committed an error in concluding it was premarital property of Shawn.

Francesca’s testimony that she was a crew member of the fishing vessel was used to determine whether or not she had been an owner/partner in the business. Her testimony proved sufficient evidence of her status, showing she helped manage it and secured collateral for a new boat with Shawn; additionally, they claimed that any permit they pledged as collateral had become marital property since it formed part of their marriage contract.

She contends the trial court should have taken into account this evidence when making its determination of who should be the primary caregiver for each child. She further contends the court erred in finding the girls’ statements about physical and substance abuse to be untrue, contending they had been completely misconstrued by a child custody investigator and OCS worker’s opinion that they did not appear to have been coached.

After her investigation into the alleged abuse, Francesca filed for a domestic violence protection order on behalf of the girls against Darian. Additionally, she also filed a motion to modify custody based on her findings. She attached copies of both petition and order as well as notes from a counselor who had recently seen them; all claiming that Darian had physically and verbally mistreated them.