I am the proud uncle of my teenage nephew, who is the only child born to my late brother. Since his birth, I have been actively involved in his life and love him like he is my own child.

He and I share an unbreakable bond like no other. His father, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia around 2004–2005 after a car accident, was unable to care for him, and his mother, who was very young at the time and a first-time parent, did not have the tools or knowledge to fully be present in his life. His mother is also currently incarcerated, which has further limited her ability to be involved in his upbringing.

My mother was my nephew’s legal guardian until Covid-19 took her life unexpectedly on April 9, 2020. At the time of her death, I was also sick with Covid-19 and spent a week in the hospital, and there was no discussion about my nephew’s guardianship.

A close female relative then stepped in and took over his care, which at first was not an issue for me because I believed he would be in great hands. What I did not anticipate was that, later on, she would use her legal authority to control and restrict when I could and could not see my nephew.

At one time, the legal guardian and I verbally agreed that my nephew could spend weekends with me, but she later decided that every weekend was too much, she called it a "luxury," so I was only allowed to have him every other weekend, even as she was parenting three children of her own and was married at the time.

My nephew, meanwhile, had no active parents in his life other than his aunt and uncle.

His father passed away in 2024, and his relationship with his mother became increasingly estranged.

From the time he was born, I promised my mother that I would always be present and active in his life; although I have two adult nephews and a niece on my father’s side of the family, he was the first nephew I helped raise from birth and watched grow into a teenager.

At 15 years old, my nephew needs me more than ever because I am able to provide him with mentorship, emotional guidance, and a clear example of what a positive male role model should look like in his life.

Whenever he has issues in school or shows poor academic performance, his legal guardian has often asked me to talk with him, and I sit down with him to discuss peer pressure, the impact of negative friendships, and the importance of making good choices.

As his uncle, I see it as my duty to show him how to be a good and respectful young man and to help him understand his responsibilities. Because of this consistent support, he is a good kid who listens and genuinely means well.

Recently, however, the guardian has begun using him as a babysitter for her younger children on the very weekends he is supposed to spend with me, which has the effect of impeding and undermining my scheduled visitation time with him. I purposely worked out a schedule with my employer to have every other weekend off.

Of course, I am a DJ, and music is how my nephew and I first bonded. It was also how his father and I connected, as his father was an artist who wrote rhymes and rapped, and I even sang on a few of his songs.

Now that my nephew is following in his father’s footsteps by freestyling and writing rhymes, it has opened another door for us to bond through sharing stories about his dad and the times we recorded in the studio and performed together.

Many people now recognize us from the fun livestreams on social media where he was my energetic backup dancer, dressed as his favorite superhero and doing backflips on my bed, and from us beginning to create videos together on newer platforms.

Every other weekend that I had with my nephew, we would go to the movies, go out to eat, ride scooters in the summertime downtown, play board games and Uno, go bowling, play laser tag, attend concerts, go to the beach, visit haunted houses, ride go-karts, and do anything else we could find that was fun and entertaining.

He is not only my nephew; he feels like my son, the son I never had, and that deep bond is one of the main reasons I created a GoFundMe to help pursue co-guardianship of him.

Recently, however, his legal guardian has restricted my time with him, believing that I do not share the same kind of bond with her younger children, which has made it even harder for me to maintain a consistent and meaningful presence in his life.

Growing up and seeing his friends with their parents while his own parents were nowhere to be found, he asked painful questions, and through our deep bond and my consistent presence, he has found it easier not to seek external validation, to navigate relationships in a healthier way, and to feel less inadequate despite all he has been through.

He is a 15-year-old who has lost multiple key family members over the years, including a great-grandparent in 2015, a grandparent in 2020, and both parents—one who passed away in 2024 and the other who is not present in his life due to personal struggles—leaving him without the stable parental presence that most of his peers have.

I have decided to take matters into my own hands and ask the courts to grant me co-guardianship so that I can see my nephew when I am scheduled to.

I am tired of his sole guardian using that authority to restrict me from the quality time I seek to have with him, driven by what feels like a personal vendetta against me.

To be very clear, I am not seeking anything other than time with my nephew on the weekends I request and the ability to take him on trips; this is not motivated by money, and I am not trying to take him away from his current guardian.

I will always acknowledge that she has been a great caregiver to the children, but this situation has gone too far, and it is unfair because separating my nephew from his uncle would hurt him tremendously.

I am asking you for help; no donation is too small, and every dollar will go toward the retainer for my lawyer.

Thank you in advance for your support.

TorJuan Sanders (aka Torre Sanz)