Chapter 2
I’d handled military legal matters, advised commanders, and learned how much a single inaccurate document could distort a case.
After leaving active service, I’d maintained my Pennsylvania law license and moved into civilian compliance consulting.
Preston knew I’d served in the Army.
He knew I worked with contracts.
He simply never asked much about the details.
I hadn’t deliberately invented a false career.
I’d stopped explaining myself to people who treated my accomplishments as interruptions.
Now those same people assumed I was helpless.
I decided to represent myself at the initial hearing.
It wasn’t because lawyers were unnecessary.
I knew firsthand that even experienced attorneys benefit from independent representation, especially in emotionally charged personal disputes.
But I was familiar with the procedural rules, had reviewed the relevant filings, and wanted to address one immediate issue myself.
The hearing concerned Preston’s request for temporary financial orders and his effort to have the alleged family loan treated as an established obligation.
It was not a trial that would settle our entire divorce.
I understood that distinction.
I also understood something Preston’s family had overlooked.
The agreement they were relying on had a problem.
A serious one.
The document was dated October 2020.
It claimed that Hale Strategic Holdings LLC had advanced $320,000 to us for renovations to our home.
My supposed signature appeared at the bottom.
So did Roland’s.
But Hale Strategic Holdings LLC hadn’t been formed until March 2023.
I’d obtained a certified formation record from the Pennsylvania Department of State.
The dates were not a matter of opinion.
The company named as the original lender did not legally exist when the agreement claimed to have been signed.
That fact alone didn’t prove every allegation of wrongdoing.
Companies could acquire old debts.
Agreements could be amended.
A business could sometimes use a different name after a transaction.
But Preston’s document didn’t describe an assignment or amendment.
It purported to be the original agreement.
And it claimed I had signed it in 2020.
I knew I hadn’t.
When the hearing began, Judge Rebecca Morrison reviewed the appearances.
She asked whether I understood that I was proceeding without counsel.
I said yes.
She cautioned me that I would be expected to follow the same procedural requirements as any other party.
I acknowledged that.
Preston’s lead attorney, Martin Voss, rose to explain his client’s position.
He described the alleged loan as a straightforward family obligation.