Help Us Continue Fighting for Santiago
My name is Marchaela, and I’m Santiago’s step-grandmother. This little boy has been loved deeply by our family since the moment we found out he was family.
After a tragic incident between his parents, Santiago entered DCS custody. Although a private DNA test confirmed my stepson was his biological father, our family was denied legal standing from the beginning because another man was listed on the birth certificate.
When Santiago was around 2 years old, DCS allowed us to begin visits with him. For nearly a year and a half, we consistently showed up, birthdays, holidays, parks, outings, gifts, clothes, school supplies, and beautiful memories together. Eventually our visits became unsupervised and happened nearly twice a month.
After Santiago’s 4th birthday, our visits suddenly stopped, and despite years of involvement and proof of our bond with him, we were shut out while the system moved toward adoption.
Santiago was adopted two months ago while our appeal was still pending. We are currently fighting in appeal court because we believe there were serious due process issues, abuse of discretion, and mishandling throughout the case that prevented our family from ever being given a fair opportunity.
We are now actively paying for an attorney and fighting through the appeal process to continue fighting for our grandson. The legal costs have become overwhelming, but we refuse to give up on him.
This GoFundMe will help cover: • Ongoing attorney fees • Appeal and court costs • Legal filings and related expenses Because the appeal is still ongoing, there are details we cannot publicly share yet.
One day the full heartbreaking story will be told. Santiago turns 6 years old on May 27th. The last birthday grandma celebrated with him was his 4th. Please continue praying for our family, sharing our story, and helping us continue this fight if you’re able.
Every donation, repost, and prayer truly means more than words can explain. We will never stop fighting for him.
After a tragic incident between his parents, Santiago entered DCS custody. Although a private DNA test confirmed my stepson was his biological father, our family was denied legal standing from the beginning because another man was listed on the birth certificate.
When Santiago was around 2 years old, DCS allowed us to begin visits with him. For nearly a year and a half, we consistently showed up, birthdays, holidays, parks, outings, gifts, clothes, school supplies, and beautiful memories together. Eventually our visits became unsupervised and happened nearly twice a month.
After Santiago’s 4th birthday, our visits suddenly stopped, and despite years of involvement and proof of our bond with him, we were shut out while the system moved toward adoption.
Santiago was adopted two months ago while our appeal was still pending. We are currently fighting in appeal court because we believe there were serious due process issues, abuse of discretion, and mishandling throughout the case that prevented our family from ever being given a fair opportunity.
We are now actively paying for an attorney and fighting through the appeal process to continue fighting for our grandson. The legal costs have become overwhelming, but we refuse to give up on him.
This GoFundMe will help cover: • Ongoing attorney fees • Appeal and court costs • Legal filings and related expenses Because the appeal is still ongoing, there are details we cannot publicly share yet.
One day the full heartbreaking story will be told. Santiago turns 6 years old on May 27th. The last birthday grandma celebrated with him was his 4th. Please continue praying for our family, sharing our story, and helping us continue this fight if you’re able.
Every donation, repost, and prayer truly means more than words can explain. We will never stop fighting for him.
Organizer
