My name is Kayla Riffer, a devoted parent facing an urgent custody battle after years of providing stability and working toward a counseling career. Relocation for an internship is critical to securing the family’s future, but legal costs threaten that goal. Support is needed to protect custody and maintain a secure, loving home.

For years, I have worked tirelessly to create stability, security, and a hopeful future for my children. That future is now at risk, and I need help to keep my family together.

Our journey has not been easy. Several years ago, when my oldest child was a toddler and I was expecting my second, we suddenly lost our home. Overnight, everything I knew about safety and stability disappeared. With nowhere else to turn, we relied on family for shelter. In that moment, I made a promise: my children would never again face that kind of uncertainty. From that day forward, I committed to building a better life from the ground up.

After my second child was born, I began pursuing a long-term plan to earn a graduate degree in counseling. My goal was simple but vital: to create a career that would allow me to support my children independently while remaining present in their lives. For years, I have studied, worked, and sacrificed to make that vision a reality. I have been there for every milestone, every school event, and every moment my children needed me. Family support made this possible, allowing me to focus on education and parenting.

Recently, I began planning the final step in this journey: completing my required internship and starting my career. This opportunity is tied to a relocation that we have been preparing for over a year. My children are excited about this move and eager for the new chapter ahead. It represents stability, growth, and the fulfillment of a promise I made long ago.

Under the existing parenting agreement, both parents acknowledged that relocation might occur and agreed to a schedule designed for that situation. While life throws its twists and turns, my children have always lived with me. I have been their constant, stable caregiver.

Unfortunately, everything changed when the other parent recently filed for full custody. After years of limited involvement, this sudden attempt to alter custody threatens to disrupt my children’s lives, their routine, and the stability they have always known. This causes concern for following the career plan that was in the works.

This legal battle is urgent and costly. My family has already contributed everything they can to help with attorney fees, but the expenses ahead exceed what we can manage alone. Without support, I risk losing not only the ability to relocate for my career but, far more devastatingly, I risk losing my children.

I am asking for help. Every contribution will go directly toward legal fees necessary to protect custody and maintain stability for my children. If more is raised than needed for the case, those funds will be used for my children’s needs and future education, whether they choose college or a trade.