LaRae’s Child Custody Legal Funds

Hi friends, my name is Beckie. I am starting this GoFundMe page for my niece, LaRae, who has a beautiful 4-year-old daughter and is in the middle of a new custody battle. The first custody suit was nearly three years ago, after the biological father stopped being involved with, or participating in, her then 8-month-old daughter’s life. LaRae won full custody, along with an 8-year-restraining order protecting her and her child through 2026.

With her little one, LaRae has lived with her mom and stepfather for most of her daughter’s life, surrounded by the love and close support of cousins, aunts, uncles, a great grandparent, Larae’s siblings, and close family friends. All of whom have contributed to their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. This is the only family, community, and support system this child has ever known.

Because there are two states involved, LaRae has had to hire two legal teams, one in each state. She, alone, has already paid over $13,000 in legal fees. We don’t know if our goal of $7,500 will be enough to cover the current and near future legal fees. One of her attorneys has not yet billed her for this year. We don’t know how far the other party will continue this battle, however, we do know that this fundraiser will help with the immediate crisis.

I must say a few words regarding LaRae’s fight to keep sole custody of her daughter. Early on, she encouraged a relationship between her daughter and the biological father. She was trying to do the right thing. Shortly after the baby was born, however, she realized that for her and her daughter’s safety and well-being, they needed to move out of that state and back home with her family. In 2018 she filed for and was awarded sole custody along with an 8-year-restraining order in the state where she and the child reside. The biological father has not attempted to be involved in LaRae’s daughter’s life until this summer. He has started a new battle in an attempt to dismiss this restraining order and get custody of her daughter.

We are all concerned for the safety of this sweet child. I don’t know why, but current restraining orders (and the reasons they are in place) are not always considered during these rulings. This scares our whole family and the close community of family friends who are directly involved in their lives. Please consider following the link listed below to listen to a podcast episode where LaRae shares her story about surviving domestic violence.

Thank you for reading this. We appreciate your prayers and any donation you can make to LaRae’s Child Custody Legal Funds. This GoFundMe is strictly for LaRae’s legal fees and is in no way supporting her and her daughter's living expenses. If there are funds remaining after all her legal fees have been satisfied, they will be donated to MadMoms, a non-profit organization which provides tools and services to help prepare a parent for family court, for those in “high-conflict” custody battles, and parents blind-sided by false allegations.

LaRae's podcast interview sharing her story about surviving domestic violence on "Nomads at the Intersections: (formerly Women on the Road)
"Not Broken LaRae Lobdell " and Episode Website.