Help us get guardianship of Elliot
Donation protected
Elliot is a happy, precocious, and incredibly loving 7-year old about to enter second grade next week. He has been living with me and Joseph (one set of his maternal grandparents) for over two years. His mom (our 27-year old daughter) is very sick with Type I diabetes, and has a really hard time taking care of herself, much less her son. She has been in and out of intensive care many times this year alone and has been told that she will die if she doesn't take better care of herself. She is suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness which makes it extremely difficult for her to understand the consequences of not taking things seriously. We don't know who Elliot's father is so it's up to us and his other set of grandparents to take care of him.
Despite our best efforts to support her, Elliot's mom has never been able to get on her feet. She makes really bad decisions and does not provide a stable life for herself or Elliot. A few months ago, she moved out of state and has not been in contact much at all. She left Elliot with us, we thought on good terms, but is now being uncooperative. We don't know where she is at the moment. She has refused to tell us where she is living or who she is living with. Without knowing more specific information about where she is, or the guy she is living with, we do not feel comfortable about this being a stable safe environment for Elliot.
Because she is so unstable, and she hasn't expressed any desire to move back or take care of Elliot, it's in his best interest that we have legal guardianship of him.
Without a managing conservatorship (also referred to as legal custody or guardianship), we are not able to get Elliot medical care, talk to his school about his grades or behaviour, or enroll him in an after-school program or in sports. We can't even get him into counseling so he can process what has happened with his mom.
We also need legal custody so that Elliot's mom can't just show up and uproot him.
We are in a position to take care of Elliot financially, thankfully, but we have not been able to come up with the funds we need to hire a family law attorney, which we need to proceed with getting legal custody. We have found an attorney we like but the retainer is $5,000 just to start any work at all. The costs of the case can approach $10,000 but we are mainly concerned with getting started right now.
If we can raise the retainer, we should be able to manage other costs as they come up. We have strong case with an extremely high likelihood of success in family court.
We certainly hate to ask for help but this isn't about us; it's about Elliot who is the light of our life. He has such a bright future ahead of him provided he's given a stable, healthy, happy home to thrive in. He's already been through a lot in his young life and, more than anything, we want to raise him to be a healthy, happy, successful young man.
If you could contribute a small amount, or share this campaign to help us raise the funds we need to protect Elliot, we would be deeply and eternally grateful!
Despite our best efforts to support her, Elliot's mom has never been able to get on her feet. She makes really bad decisions and does not provide a stable life for herself or Elliot. A few months ago, she moved out of state and has not been in contact much at all. She left Elliot with us, we thought on good terms, but is now being uncooperative. We don't know where she is at the moment. She has refused to tell us where she is living or who she is living with. Without knowing more specific information about where she is, or the guy she is living with, we do not feel comfortable about this being a stable safe environment for Elliot.
Because she is so unstable, and she hasn't expressed any desire to move back or take care of Elliot, it's in his best interest that we have legal guardianship of him.
Without a managing conservatorship (also referred to as legal custody or guardianship), we are not able to get Elliot medical care, talk to his school about his grades or behaviour, or enroll him in an after-school program or in sports. We can't even get him into counseling so he can process what has happened with his mom.
We also need legal custody so that Elliot's mom can't just show up and uproot him.
We are in a position to take care of Elliot financially, thankfully, but we have not been able to come up with the funds we need to hire a family law attorney, which we need to proceed with getting legal custody. We have found an attorney we like but the retainer is $5,000 just to start any work at all. The costs of the case can approach $10,000 but we are mainly concerned with getting started right now.
If we can raise the retainer, we should be able to manage other costs as they come up. We have strong case with an extremely high likelihood of success in family court.
We certainly hate to ask for help but this isn't about us; it's about Elliot who is the light of our life. He has such a bright future ahead of him provided he's given a stable, healthy, happy home to thrive in. He's already been through a lot in his young life and, more than anything, we want to raise him to be a healthy, happy, successful young man.
If you could contribute a small amount, or share this campaign to help us raise the funds we need to protect Elliot, we would be deeply and eternally grateful!
Organizer
Anita Walker
Organizer
Cedar Park, TX
