Help me keep custody of Felix

My name is Athene, and I'm blessed to be the mother of a beautiful young boy named Felix. Though it's tough to be a young single mother, Felix and I have lived lovingly together for his entire near three years of life. He is my world, my light, my everything. Recently, a wonderful man came into our life and asked to be part of our little family. A man named Erich, who I have known and been in love with for soon to be seven years. He had a much better living situation in Nebraska, where he had been residing for the past 4 years, and asked us to come live with him. Felix's biological father has been incredibly absent in his life, never adequately assisted in supporting him, never showed consistent interest in raising his son, and has just been a severe pain in my neck for as long as I've known him. So, I took a leap of faith and moved my son to live with a man who genuinely wants to love him as his own. 

And here's where things blew up in our faces. Jesse (my son's biological father) decided to sue me for custody of Felix. Now, like I said, my son is going to be three soon, and his father has never had much interest in being a parent all these years. So, all I can discern from this is that this is a petty, personal vendetta that Jesse has against my chance at happiness. Unfortunately, this means that I have to go to court and fight for my right to keep full custody, and continue to be the rock that Felix could always count on. 

As it turns out, obtaining a family attorney is INCREDIBLY expensive. I have also been required to appear in court in Texas twice now since we've moved. So, traveling across three states every two weeks has drained all the spare funds I would have had to put towards legal representation. So I am starting this fundraiser to help me obtain that legal council, so my son stays with me full time, where he belongs. 

The ultimate goal is to stay in Nebraska where our opportunities are plentiful. However, I am very aware that it's a long shot that we can continue to stay here, and I am fully prepared to have to move back to Austin asap. Regardless, I'll still need a good lawyer to keep full custody of my son, no matter where we reside. 

From what I have discovered from the plethora of Family Attorney's that I have talked to, it's going to cost me around $7,000 to hire someone. Any spare funds will go towards the travel expenses involved in this process, and unfortunately my likely relocation back to Austin. 

I couldn't imagine life without my baby, and I've cried more in this past month than I have ever cried in my life. My spirit is beaten down due to this process, but if I lose my son, my heart will be irrevocably broken. If you can please spare anything to help me keep my baby in my arms, I will be eternally thankful. 

Sincerely,
Athene, Erich, and Felix