Legal Help Needed to Protect My Special Needs Boys

My name is Lacey, and I’m the mother of two incredible little boys, ages 4 and 7. Both of my sons are autistic and have significant, lifelong special needs.

My younger son is autistic Level 3 and nonverbal, with severe self-injuring behaviors, aggression, sensory challenges, and ADHD.

My older son is also autistic and has ADHD, behavioral and regulation challenges, sensory overwhelm, and requires intensive support and structure every single day.

Both of my children need constant supervision, specialized therapy, and stable routines just to feel safe.

Their father abandoned his responsibilities long before the divorce began — emotionally, financially, and physically — and his choices have caused serious harm to our boys. I am fighting this battle on my own, and I urgently need help securing legal representation to protect them.

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Why We Need Help

During this divorce, their father has chosen himself over his children at every turn.

He told me he “didn’t sign up to have kids with special needs” and that our boys “tarnish his image.” Since then, he has refused to follow court orders and has withheld even the most basic support from the children.

He continues living comfortably in the fully furnished family home while my sons and I have been living in a temporary rental for almost a year, sleeping on an air mattress on the floor. We have no beds, no furniture, no dressers, no dining table, and almost no toys or comfort items. Many of our belongings were sold, given away, or simply not returned to us. Nearly everything we now have has been donated.

For two autistic children who rely on routine, familiarity, and sensory stability, this level of instability is not just upsetting — it is traumatic.

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What He Did

Throughout our marriage, he insisted on controlling every financial detail: bank logins, passwords, investments, bills, cards, and taxes. As a financial advisor, he kept me completely in the dark.

After the separation, the truth came out.

I found a briefcase hidden in a closet containing over three hundred W2-G gambling tax forms, proving he had been gambling multiple times a week for years while I was home caring for a baby and toddler alone.

Once the divorce started, instead of supporting his children, he made sure there would be nothing left for them:

• He cashed out all investments

• He emptied his entire 401(k)

• He failed to pay taxes on any of the withdrawals

• He hid the money

• He ignored court orders

• He refused to pay therapy costs

• He refused child support until wages were garnished

The IRS has now notified me of a potential levy on the family home — the same home my children and I are not allowed to live in — because of the tax debt he created.

He put gambling above his children.

He put his reputation above their needs.

And now he is doing everything possible to avoid legal and financial responsibility for two disabled children who need consistent care.

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Where the Funds Will Go

I work part-time remotely so I can get the boys to school, therapy, and medical appointments. I make about $1,000 a month, but it is not enough to survive. I cannot meet basic living expenses, and every month means choosing which bills to pay and which to delay. I cannot afford beds, furniture, or even replacing the belongings that were taken from us — let alone the legal help required to protect my kids.

Your donation will directly fund:

• A $5,000 attorney retainer

• Filing multiple contempt violations

• Enforcing child support and therapy payments

• Protecting my children’s rights, safety, and stability

• Taking legal action to stop him from withholding or selling their belongings

If you are an attorney willing to donate your time or offer reduced rates, please reach out — your help could change the course of my children’s lives.

I am not asking for help for myself. I am asking because my special needs children deserve a parent who can fight for them — and I cannot do that alone.

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About My Boys

Both of my sons have profound special needs, and both are suffering because of the instability their father has created.

My younger son

• Autistic Level 3

• Nonverbal

• Severe self-injuring behaviors

• Aggression and sensory crises

• ADHD

• Requires full-time care and constant supervision

My older son

• Autistic

• ADHD

• Significant behavioral and regulation difficulties

• Sensory overwhelm

• Needs intensive structure, therapy, and predictability

They deserve:

• Real beds

• Their own toys and sensory items

• A safe, stable home

• Access to therapy

• A predictable routine

• A childhood free from chaos, uncertainty, and fear

The situation they are in is harming their development, their mental health, and their sense of safety.

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Thank You

I am fighting with everything I have for my boys. But he has hidden money, a lawyer, and a house. I have two special needs children sleeping on an air mattress.

Legal help is the only way to protect them.

If you can donate, share, or offer support in any way — including legal assistance — you will be helping two vulnerable boys get the stability, safety, and care they desperately need.

Thank you for reading our story and for standing with my family.

— Lacey