Help a little boy out of a bad & unsafe home
First time poster here, hoping I’m doing it right.
Here is goes, I am reaching out in hopes of getting help towards attorney fees. We(my husband & I) are currently awaiting trial for a custody modification case out of Lee county FL. We are seeking sole custody of my stepson who is the most loving and caring little 8yr old boy! His biological mother is an active drug addict as is her husband. They continuously subject him to drugs, alcohol and neglect. We currently have 50/50 custody with my husband as Primary but since 3/2016 when the 50/50 was originally established his mother & stepfather have missed countless (ALL) Drs appts, specialist appts, school appts, school functions, dental appts etc. My stepson has a multitude of special needs that are going to be a life long struggle for him due to his mother’s endless drug and alcohol abuse while pregnant, DCF was temporarily involved during his birth but did very little before closing the case. He was confirmed with FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) along with his many other diagnosis. Just in the past year he has suffered a 2nd degree burn while in her Care because she was getting high around him, he has been forgotten at school on her days, and is constantly subjected to drugs, alcohol, unsecured guns/weapons, and neglect of his physical, medical and emotional needs. Lately he has cried and begged us and his teacher not to make him go back to her but we are extremely limited to what we can do without being in contempt of a court order. We have contacted DCF as has the school and his therapist and nothing is ever done. The school has expressed their anger with DCFs disregard for the wellbeing of children including my stepson.
I have reached out to so many local attorneys and attorneys in 4 surrounding counties, requesting reduced rate or pro bono help in this matter i.e; legal aid, Fl Rural services, The FL Bar association and my local senator. All have denied our request based on their own reasons. Some saying it’s too high conflict, others saying they don’t deal in family law or custody or custody modification.
My stepsons mom has retained an attorney to help her in this matter, only god knows how she is funding it. Honestly at this point I’m convinced the only reason she wants to stay at 50/50 is because she gets to claim him every other yr on tax’s and to avoid having to pay child support.
For the amount of time that I have known her (5yrs) she has proven time and time again to be a very selfish, self involved person and a huge liar! If it doesn’t benefit her she doesn’t do it. She actively collected SSI for 2 yrs on him and never once used that money to get him help with any of his issues, the sad part is the Medicaid would have covered everything all she needed to do was bring him. She is currently repaying all that money back because she lied at the time about having a job so that she would get paid the max amount. She has been arrested for domestic violence and is mentally off, continues to self medicates with illegal and legal drugs. I truly don’t understand how this is such a battle but it is and it’s currently our nightmare.
My husband is the best father I have seen or ever known, he works extremely hard to care for us while also making time for all appts, school functions etc.
We are a family of 7 soon to be 8 come this January and are an extremely limited income household. We have spoke with many attorneys and all say a trial retainer for our high conflict case will easily be $7,000-$8,500. At this point we will take what we can get to go towards retaining one. My fear is without legal Representation he will get an unfair trial and ultimately it’s my poor stepson who will suffer.
Recently my stepson has told us that she literally blows skunk smoke (marijuana)in his face and laughs and says “oh you will be fine”. This causes his anxiety to sky rocket because he is severely asthmatic and he knows that can trigger an asthma attack. How such a horrible person continues to get away with this crap is beyond me. We have years of documented proof, Drs letters on our behalf, pics of her bragging about drinking and driving and the list goes on! No person let alone child should ever have to be subjected to such behaviors. Every child deserves a mother even if it’s not the one who birthed them and for him that’s me. I will not stop fighting for him and his wellbeing and I hope that our prayers are heard and answered. It is his request and our hopes to be placed permanently with us and he has told this to his dr, therapist, teacher and many family members including his own mother.
If you are able and willing to help please do! A child’s life depends on it. If you know any local family law attorneys in Lee County Fl that have the heart to help we will gladly accept that too! Thank you all for taking the time to read this! Prayers are always welcome as well:)
Here is goes, I am reaching out in hopes of getting help towards attorney fees. We(my husband & I) are currently awaiting trial for a custody modification case out of Lee county FL. We are seeking sole custody of my stepson who is the most loving and caring little 8yr old boy! His biological mother is an active drug addict as is her husband. They continuously subject him to drugs, alcohol and neglect. We currently have 50/50 custody with my husband as Primary but since 3/2016 when the 50/50 was originally established his mother & stepfather have missed countless (ALL) Drs appts, specialist appts, school appts, school functions, dental appts etc. My stepson has a multitude of special needs that are going to be a life long struggle for him due to his mother’s endless drug and alcohol abuse while pregnant, DCF was temporarily involved during his birth but did very little before closing the case. He was confirmed with FAS (fetal alcohol syndrome) along with his many other diagnosis. Just in the past year he has suffered a 2nd degree burn while in her Care because she was getting high around him, he has been forgotten at school on her days, and is constantly subjected to drugs, alcohol, unsecured guns/weapons, and neglect of his physical, medical and emotional needs. Lately he has cried and begged us and his teacher not to make him go back to her but we are extremely limited to what we can do without being in contempt of a court order. We have contacted DCF as has the school and his therapist and nothing is ever done. The school has expressed their anger with DCFs disregard for the wellbeing of children including my stepson.
I have reached out to so many local attorneys and attorneys in 4 surrounding counties, requesting reduced rate or pro bono help in this matter i.e; legal aid, Fl Rural services, The FL Bar association and my local senator. All have denied our request based on their own reasons. Some saying it’s too high conflict, others saying they don’t deal in family law or custody or custody modification.
My stepsons mom has retained an attorney to help her in this matter, only god knows how she is funding it. Honestly at this point I’m convinced the only reason she wants to stay at 50/50 is because she gets to claim him every other yr on tax’s and to avoid having to pay child support.
For the amount of time that I have known her (5yrs) she has proven time and time again to be a very selfish, self involved person and a huge liar! If it doesn’t benefit her she doesn’t do it. She actively collected SSI for 2 yrs on him and never once used that money to get him help with any of his issues, the sad part is the Medicaid would have covered everything all she needed to do was bring him. She is currently repaying all that money back because she lied at the time about having a job so that she would get paid the max amount. She has been arrested for domestic violence and is mentally off, continues to self medicates with illegal and legal drugs. I truly don’t understand how this is such a battle but it is and it’s currently our nightmare.
My husband is the best father I have seen or ever known, he works extremely hard to care for us while also making time for all appts, school functions etc.
We are a family of 7 soon to be 8 come this January and are an extremely limited income household. We have spoke with many attorneys and all say a trial retainer for our high conflict case will easily be $7,000-$8,500. At this point we will take what we can get to go towards retaining one. My fear is without legal Representation he will get an unfair trial and ultimately it’s my poor stepson who will suffer.
Recently my stepson has told us that she literally blows skunk smoke (marijuana)in his face and laughs and says “oh you will be fine”. This causes his anxiety to sky rocket because he is severely asthmatic and he knows that can trigger an asthma attack. How such a horrible person continues to get away with this crap is beyond me. We have years of documented proof, Drs letters on our behalf, pics of her bragging about drinking and driving and the list goes on! No person let alone child should ever have to be subjected to such behaviors. Every child deserves a mother even if it’s not the one who birthed them and for him that’s me. I will not stop fighting for him and his wellbeing and I hope that our prayers are heard and answered. It is his request and our hopes to be placed permanently with us and he has told this to his dr, therapist, teacher and many family members including his own mother.
If you are able and willing to help please do! A child’s life depends on it. If you know any local family law attorneys in Lee County Fl that have the heart to help we will gladly accept that too! Thank you all for taking the time to read this! Prayers are always welcome as well:)
Organizer
E Zeigler
Organizer
Lehigh Acres, FL