Still Here
Still Here — A Father’s Documented Fight to Stay in His Son’s Life
Dylan is 7 years old. His father has been denied court-ordered parenting time since January 21, 2024.
This series is the record of what that looks like — not in the abstract, but in real time. The emails. The court filings. The appointments he wasn’t told about. The therapy he didn’t know existed. The messages that go unanswered on Our Family Wizard while his words get monitored on Substack.
Parental alienation doesn’t always look like one dramatic act. It looks like a chain of omissions — medical, educational, legal — until a parent has been quietly removed from every channel of a child’s life. This series documents that chain as it happens.
Every installment is timestamped. Every claim is sourced. The record stands on its own.
Michael Phillips is Dylan’s father. He is not going anywhere.
Still Here is part of Father & Co.’s Investigations coverage. New installments publish as events warrant.
Installments
What You’re Missing This Father’s Day
In a heartfelt letter, Michael Phillips expresses his pain over being denied contact with his son, Dylan, due to ongoing parental conflicts with his mother, Christina Avgerinos. Despite a court order granting visitation on Father’s Day and throughout the year, sustained efforts to connect have been thwarted, leaving Michael to reflect on the time lost…
Still Here: The Intake Form
In April 2026, a father discovers his son Dylan has been in therapy for a year without his knowledge. Following the separation from Dylan’s mother, he gained access to the therapy process, emphasizing the importance of parental involvement in mental health care. The father expresses his commitment and desires for his son’s growth through therapy.
Fighting Through It
The article discusses the consequences of dismissing a father’s illness within legal proceedings, as exemplified by the author’s experience with pneumonia and a high-conflict separation. Despite medical documentation, his former partner accused him of faking illness, affecting his custody battle. It highlights how untreated illness and stress can impair a parent’s ability to present themselves…
Before the Record, There Was a Marriage. This Is How It Ended — And How Everything That Followed Began.
The Still Here series documents a father’s struggle to maintain a relationship with his son after a tumultuous marriage that ended with a protective order. It reveals a pattern of emotional abuse and systemic failures in recognizing male victims of domestic violence. Key events include the father’s removal from the home, false allegations, and the…
No One Is Watching: How Montgomery County’s Family Court Operates Without External Oversight, and What Happens to the People Who Notice
An investigation reveals a significant accountability gap in Maryland’s family court system, where civil rights complaints against judges lack external oversight and transparency. Complaints filed are often sealed and unreported, leading to systemic noncompliance without recourse for litigants. This raises critical issues about judicial accountability and the structures that enable potential misconduct.
7,077 Messages. One Court Order. Years of No.
Our Family Wizard is a co-parenting platform documenting over 7,000 messages exchanged in a high-conflict custody case. The records reveal a consistent pattern of noncompliance with court orders, with one parent systematically excluding the other from important decisions and events regarding their child, highlighting significant communication breakdowns and avoidance.
She Wants Her Name Out of the Story. The First Amendment Has Something to Say About That.
Michael Phillips responds to Christina Avgerinos’s demands to remove her and their son’s names from his writings. He argues that such requests lack legal authority under First Amendment protections and highlights the broader implications for parental rights and press freedom. Phillips asserts his commitment to documenting his experiences as a father.
The Morning She Told Me to Stop Writing, She Also Told Me About the Therapy
Eight minutes separated two emails—one revealing months of undisclosed therapy, the other demanding silence. This is what parental exclusion actually looks like in real time.
I Wrote About My Son Yesterday. Today I Sent His Doctor a Letter.
When you can’t show up in person, you show up in writing. A father explains why documenting communication with his child’s doctor may matter more than most people realize in parental alienation cases.
Today Is Parental Alienation Awareness Day. My Son Is 7. I Haven’t Had Parenting Time Since He Was 4.
On Parental Alienation Awareness Day, Michael Phillips emphasizes the disconnect between awareness and effective enforcement in family courts. He shares his painful experience of estrangement from his son due to parental alienation, highlighting the damaging effects on children and advocating for serious legal action to uphold court-ordered parenting time.