Jacob's Legal Guardianship
Donation protected
We have been to high court and the judge has ruled in our favor. I now have guardianship and parental rights of Jacob!!!
I can not tell you how amazing it feels to have this heavy burden lifted off of me. Jacob can now freely travel out of the country and finally has the security he needs and deserves.
This whole process has cost ALOT of money, more than I actually anticipated. I have updated the amount needed as I have just received the final statement and ending balance from the lawyers. The good news is that once I have raised this amount, it is done and over.
Would you continue to journey with us and share our story? Would you consider giving to pay off this lengthy and expensive yet very important and necessary process? Any amount will be greatly appreciated and no amount is too small!!
I will be updating all giving, whether on this campaign or elsewhere, on this site so there is one spot to track where we are in fundraising.
Ways to give other than through this campaign:
Tax Deductible
If you are giving from the U.S. and would like a tax deductible option you can go to: www.allnations.us and click on "give" option at the top of the screen, then "donate". This will give you all options available. After you select the option that best suits you, please mark the donation: Nicole Lalli/guardianship.
Other options (not tax deductible)
- PayPal - (please contact me)
- Cash App - (please contact me) (check out this app, there is no fee and it's instant)
- Personal Check - Send a check made out to Nicole Lalli to:
Nicole Lalli
1717 12th Ave. S. Lot F7
Lake Worth, Florida 33460
- Giving from SA - Jacob Gumede
ABSA Bank
Account Number: 9273756673
Branch Code: 632005
Reference: Sir name/guardianship
A bit about us:
My name is Nicole Lalli and I am an American missionary living in Cape Town, South Africa and working with a missions organization called All Nations.
Jacob was born in South Africa and is of Zulu heritage.
I first met Jake as an infant when he was 2 days old and was en route to live at a baby home (orphanage). I only spent about 15 minutes with him but I instantly fell in love. I thought of him and prayed for he and his birth parents daily after that.
On Dec 22, 2010 I had the great honor of becoming Jake’s foster parent and he has been in my care ever since. Jacob is now 7 1/2 years old and hasn’t had an easy start to life. He has seen a pediatric neurologist, child psychologist, speech therapist, and 2 different occupational therapists, as well as being diagnosed on the spectrum. As he has gotten older the list just keeps growing BUT Jake is an overcomer and one amazing young man! Against all odds, he is thriving. He attends a private christian school and is excelling in all his subjects. He loves music and is in his 2nd year of piano lessons. He has always loved books and has already far surpassed his age group in reading. He is a sweet and loving boy with a great sense of humor and keen perception of the world around him.
What does legel guardianship mean for Jacob?
It will give me legal and parental rights of Jacob. Having guardianship will ensure that he can not be removed from my care. (Having him removed from my care is a very real threat that has already been discussed with me by his social worker). This would be detrimental to Jacob's emotional and mental health so I am doing everything I can to prevent it. It will also allow him to travel outside South Africa which he has not been able to do as a foster child.
Why legel guardianship and not adoption?
I would love to adopt Jake but the process for adopting him is a complicated one for our particular situation.
- I am a foreigner, living in the country I am adopting from and have been living with the child I am trying to adopt.
- I do not have permanent residency in South Africa which is required when adopting while living in the country.
- His mother doesn't want to sign off on the adoption.
So I am setting adoption aside for now to focus on legal guardianship.
Why is legel guardianship so expensive?
There are multiple answers to this questions but to keep it short and simple, I've had to hire a lawyer and advocate and we will need to petition High Court here in Cape Town which gets very costly.
I can not tell you how amazing it feels to have this heavy burden lifted off of me. Jacob can now freely travel out of the country and finally has the security he needs and deserves.
This whole process has cost ALOT of money, more than I actually anticipated. I have updated the amount needed as I have just received the final statement and ending balance from the lawyers. The good news is that once I have raised this amount, it is done and over.
Would you continue to journey with us and share our story? Would you consider giving to pay off this lengthy and expensive yet very important and necessary process? Any amount will be greatly appreciated and no amount is too small!!
I will be updating all giving, whether on this campaign or elsewhere, on this site so there is one spot to track where we are in fundraising.
Ways to give other than through this campaign:
Tax Deductible
If you are giving from the U.S. and would like a tax deductible option you can go to: www.allnations.us and click on "give" option at the top of the screen, then "donate". This will give you all options available. After you select the option that best suits you, please mark the donation: Nicole Lalli/guardianship.
Other options (not tax deductible)
- PayPal - (please contact me)
- Cash App - (please contact me) (check out this app, there is no fee and it's instant)
- Personal Check - Send a check made out to Nicole Lalli to:
Nicole Lalli
1717 12th Ave. S. Lot F7
Lake Worth, Florida 33460
- Giving from SA - Jacob Gumede
ABSA Bank
Account Number: 9273756673
Branch Code: 632005
Reference: Sir name/guardianship
A bit about us:
My name is Nicole Lalli and I am an American missionary living in Cape Town, South Africa and working with a missions organization called All Nations.
Jacob was born in South Africa and is of Zulu heritage.
I first met Jake as an infant when he was 2 days old and was en route to live at a baby home (orphanage). I only spent about 15 minutes with him but I instantly fell in love. I thought of him and prayed for he and his birth parents daily after that.
On Dec 22, 2010 I had the great honor of becoming Jake’s foster parent and he has been in my care ever since. Jacob is now 7 1/2 years old and hasn’t had an easy start to life. He has seen a pediatric neurologist, child psychologist, speech therapist, and 2 different occupational therapists, as well as being diagnosed on the spectrum. As he has gotten older the list just keeps growing BUT Jake is an overcomer and one amazing young man! Against all odds, he is thriving. He attends a private christian school and is excelling in all his subjects. He loves music and is in his 2nd year of piano lessons. He has always loved books and has already far surpassed his age group in reading. He is a sweet and loving boy with a great sense of humor and keen perception of the world around him.
What does legel guardianship mean for Jacob?
It will give me legal and parental rights of Jacob. Having guardianship will ensure that he can not be removed from my care. (Having him removed from my care is a very real threat that has already been discussed with me by his social worker). This would be detrimental to Jacob's emotional and mental health so I am doing everything I can to prevent it. It will also allow him to travel outside South Africa which he has not been able to do as a foster child.
Why legel guardianship and not adoption?
I would love to adopt Jake but the process for adopting him is a complicated one for our particular situation.
- I am a foreigner, living in the country I am adopting from and have been living with the child I am trying to adopt.
- I do not have permanent residency in South Africa which is required when adopting while living in the country.
- His mother doesn't want to sign off on the adoption.
So I am setting adoption aside for now to focus on legal guardianship.
Why is legel guardianship so expensive?
There are multiple answers to this questions but to keep it short and simple, I've had to hire a lawyer and advocate and we will need to petition High Court here in Cape Town which gets very costly.
Organizer
Nicole Lalli
Organizer
