While expressing “very serious concerns” that a father who holds an advanced business degree and reportedly once had a six-figure salary can't find a job or afford a lawyer for child custody proceedings, a judge nevertheless granted his request for publicly funded counsel.

Defendant Joseph Abadi holds a master's degree from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. And as late as 2007, he held a job that paid $135,000 a year with a 30 percent minimum bonus on top of his base salary, according to plaintiff Victoria Abadi, with whom he is locked in post-judgment litigation regarding custody and visitation of their two children.

But Joseph Abadi said he made only $18,371 in 2014 and is mired in more than $178,000 worth of debt for bank loans, student loans, credit card bills and attorney fees. He said he has been unemployed for about a year and, despite his best efforts, has been unable to find a job in the U.S. or in his native Panama commensurate with his education.