Attorney Costs for Child Custody

I come to you, my friends and family to ask for your aid. 

I am in the midst of one of the most challenging situations I have ever faced. I am taking my daughters father to court in pursuit of full custody.
This decision does not come easily. It is necessary due to events over the last several months which have escalated from what was a verbally and emotionally toxic relationship to one of abuse and violence. 
My daughter is no longer safe in her fathers care. 

In November Aura was abused sexually by her fathers’ roommates 6 year old son. Aura shared with me that it had happened “many times”. As it is challenging to get a quantifiable number from a 3 year old- I asked “where did it happen”.  Her communication of where it happened (stating several places in the home) signifies, as far as I am concerned, there was abuse on more than one occasion.

The other parents did not take this seriously. They disregarded advise from a child Psycologist not to meet with all the children to discuss the issue and excluded me from a meeting with all the parents, and all the children. In responce,  I talked to Auras school so that they were aware of the situation, and Child Protective Services was alerted. There was an investigation and the roommate and his son moved out. However, Auras father continued to associate with the family, and the child who violated her was allowed to be in Aura's presence without my consent and without supervision. CPS had ordered the children have no contact, yet Auras father disregarded this.

The abuse did not stop. There was another incident. I called CPS for the second time. There was another investigation. Through this process, I did everything a responsible loving mother would do to protect her child.  

Auras father was disturbingly dismissive and negligent.

Last month, things further escalated. 

Auras father physically assaulted me when I went to pick her up. He became violent toward me. He threw me against my car numerous times in front of our daughter. We were in public. There was a witness that heard me screaming "HELP!" and came to my aid. 
Aura and I got away. I had a very sore left side of my body and bruising. 
I got a witness testimonial, then went to police station to file a report.

The next step was a restraining order and emergency custody. 
Both of which were temporarily granted till our court hearing at the end of April. 

Auras father loves her very much. They love each other. I understand the importance of them having a relationship. However, he is not well and needs help. I am asking the courts for him to be in anger management classes, parenting classes, not to take her out of the county and to be on supervised visitation. He must make changes to be a safe parent. 

I am currently a single mother solely supporting my 2 children. I am in process of applying for child support, but this may take months. In the meantime, the expenses for caring for them is on me. 

I am not in the financial position to hire an attorney. Due to the nature of this situation, it is imperative that I have legal representation. I do not want to risk my daughter being abused or the chance that she could be kidnapped and taken to Israel where her father is from. 

The stakes are high and I must respond accordingly. 

I have had several consultations with local lawyers. I have been quoted around $5,000 for retainment.

I am asking for $7,000 to help with my expenses in addition to lawyer fees as I have not been able to work much the last month, and my meager savings are rapidly depleting. 

This is where the help comes in.  

I am asking my community, the people that love us to help us.
My hope is to quickly raise enough funds to hire an attorney in the next week. This is an emergency situation, time is of the essence. 

Blessings and love to all that have found themselves reading this. 

My sincere gratitude. 

~Franchesca