Abigail Morehouse

Abigail Morehouse Because the best strategy isn’t just for court—it’s for life. Abigail Morehouse is an Idaho native having grown up in Boise.

Creator of Strategy Over Chaos™
Family law attorney teaching the principles of strategic thinking, credibility, and decision-making through real-world courtroom experience. After graduating from Boise State University, she attended Concordia Law where she served on the Board of Law Review as Managing Editor, volunteered in the Housing Clinic where she assisted clients that faced eviction and other housing issues, and she served as Research Assistant to the Dean. During law school she also worked as a limited license intern for Charles Peterson where she assisted with trials, research, and case management. After being admitted to the Idaho State Bar, she went to work at the Ada County Public Defender's Office. During her time as a Public Defender she handled cases ranging from basic misdemeanors to serious felonies. Abigail has handled over 30 jury trials and is an experienced litigator. She is a dedicated attorney that focuses on ensuring her clients are well informed and understand the complicated legal process and fighting to get the best legal outcome possible in a case.

09/26/2026

When I'm not in court, I'm a single mom with two dogs, running around like everyone else. I forget things. I run late. Some weeks, I'm holding it together with Diet Coke and a to-do list.

That's exactly why I teach strategy over chaos. Staying calm under pressure isn't a personality trait you're born with or without. It's a set of decisions you make ahead of time, so you're not making them in the moment.

If a family law attorney needs a plan to get through the week, you're allowed to need one for your case.

Every Saturday, I'm sharing a little of how I actually live what I teach. Follow along for the next one. And if you'd rather not comment publicly, send me a DM. I read them.

Unpopular opinion: you're not losing your case because of the other party.They're difficult. I believe you, and I'm not ...
09/26/2026

Unpopular opinion: you're not losing your case because of the other party.

They're difficult. I believe you, and I'm not asking you to pretend otherwise.

But difficult is predictable. You already know what they'll send, when they'll send it, and exactly which nerve it's aimed at — and predictable is something you can plan around.

What actually costs people their cases is the reaction. The reply sent on their timing, in their tone, in writing.

They don't have to win the argument. They only have to get you to write one thing they can hand to a judge.

The part that stings: the only half of that thread you control is yours. That isn't fair, and it isn't a moral judgment. It's just where your leverage is.

Tell me I'm wrong — the comments are open. If you'd rather say it without your name on it, DM me.

09/25/2026

I've asked this question on the stand more times than I can count: why won't you negotiate with the other parent?

The answers barely change. I know better. The kids love me more. He doesn't deserve to be consulted.

Every one of them thought it made them sound like the more devoted parent.

The judge heard something else — this is the parent who won't work with anyone.

They lost. Not because they were bad parents, but because they made themselves the obstacle, out loud, under oath.

Refusing to negotiate doesn't read as strength in family court. It reads as the reason the case is in front of a judge at all.

If you want the strategy I teach my clients, comment (or DM for privacy) STRATEGY and I will send you the link.

When a text thread lands on my desk as an exhibit, I'm not reading it for the insults. I'm reading it for four things, a...
09/24/2026

When a text thread lands on my desk as an exhibit, I'm not reading it for the insults. I'm reading it for four things, and they're not the four things people expect.

Who asks questions, and who issues declarations. How fast each person replies. Whether the reply actually answers what was asked.

And what happens after a disagreement — does someone put a proposal on the table, or does the thread just go quiet?

None of that is about who was nicer. It's about who is easier to work with on paper, and that's exactly what a judge is trying to figure out.

Go read your last thirty messages against those four questions. It's uncomfortable, and it's the most useful hour you'll spend on your case.

Want to know how your own texts read? Take the "Are Your Texts Helping?" quiz — link in my bio. Or DM me and I'll send it to you directly, no comment needed.

09/23/2026

Every client asks me some version of this: how do I show the judge what they're really like?

They're picturing a moment. The screenshot that lands. The gasp in the courtroom.

It doesn't happen like that. What actually moves a judge is a document — printed, dated, with the specific lines you want them to read already marked.

Not 400 pages. Not a binder. One clean exhibit that makes one point and makes it fast.

It's less cinematic than what you were hoping for. It's also the thing that works.

Comment (or DM for privacy) FILTER and I'll send you the Courtroom Filter™ Cheat Sheet — the four steps I give clients for turning a pile of screenshots into something a judge will actually read.

Most people think the goal is to win the argument in the thread. The goal is to make the thread unusable against you.Tha...
09/21/2026

Most people think the goal is to win the argument in the thread. The goal is to make the thread unusable against you.

That's a completely different job, and it needs a system, not willpower.

Four steps. Screenshot it and put the phone down — the record exists now, you don't have to keep holding it. Ask whether a judge would call your reply reasonable, not whether it's satisfying.

Log the pattern with a date and one line, not a paragraph about how it made you feel. Then answer on your schedule, in language dull enough to be read out loud in a courtroom.

The relief isn't in the reply. It's in knowing the next message doesn't get to set your day.

Comment FILTER and I'll send you the Courtroom Filter™ Cheat Sheet. If you'd rather not comment publicly, DM me FILTER instead and I'll send it straight to you.

09/20/2026

Your written communication is some of the strongest evidence you'll ever have in your case — and most people hand it over without thinking about it.

Every text, every email, every parenting app message can end up as an exhibit.

That's not a warning. It's an opportunity most people waste.

Those messages are how a judge gets to know you before you say a single word on the stand. They're also how the judge works out which parent is reasonable and which one is generating the conflict.

You don't get to explain your tone later. The thread speaks for you.

So write like it's already Exhibit A. It probably is.

Comment (or DM for privacy) VERDICT to take the quiz — Would You Win or Lose Your Case?

Family court is never going to tell you that you were right. I know how that lands. It's still the single most useful th...
09/18/2026

Family court is never going to tell you that you were right. I know how that lands. It's still the single most useful thing I can say to someone at the beginning of a case.

A family court allocates parenting time and decision-making authority. That's the job. It does not exist to determine who behaved better over the course of a relationship, and it has no mechanism for issuing that finding even when a judge privately agrees with you.

Which means every dollar spent pursuing acknowledgment is spent on something the court cannot deliver. And there are a lot of those dollars. Contested custody runs into five figures routinely, and a meaningful share of that spend is chasing a declaration that isn't on the menu.

You can disagree with me on this — plenty of people do, usually the ones still early enough to hope. The ones on the other side of it rarely argue.

Send this to someone who's about to file and thinks the truth will speak for itself.

The problem is what that need does to your position. The person who needs this to be fair will always pay more for it, b...
09/16/2026

The problem is what that need does to your position. The person who needs this to be fair will always pay more for it, because the other side figures out what you're holding out for and charges you for it every time. Withholding it costs them nothing.

The clients who settle well aren't the ones who care less. They're the ones who stopped needing the settlement to double as an apology, and it changes everything about what they're willing to trade for.

I have never seen a family court order that said one parent was the better person. That finding doesn't exist. Judges allocate parenting time and decision-making authority, and that's the whole job.

Send this to someone waiting for their judge to tell them they were right.

I won't tell you to ignore it. It's the most common advice in this space and it's half right, which makes it worse than ...
09/15/2026

I won't tell you to ignore it. It's the most common advice in this space and it's half right, which makes it worse than wrong.

Ignoring works on the message designed to provoke you. It fails on everything else, because the record doesn't distinguish between the two. Six months later nobody sees which messages deserved a response. They see nine from them and none from you, and the reasonable interpretation available to a stranger is that you don't communicate.

What you want instead is to decline on the record. Acknowledge that the message arrived. Decline the part that isn't a real question. Redirect to what actually needs deciding. Three sentences, no defense of yourself, no correcting the story.

You end up with a thread where you responded to everything and defended nothing. That's a completely different document than silence.

Comment FILTER — or DM me FILTER if you'd rather not comment publicly — and I'll send you the Courtroom Filter Cheat Sheet.

Address

250 South 5th Street Suite 120
Boise, ID
83702

Telephone

+12083363553

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