My name is Ali Sheehan (formerly Spector), and I am a 21-year old student pursuing a Graduate degree in Management who owns a small business selling clothes. I have set up this GoFundMe because I feel like my mom unjustly took my Florida Prepaid account.

A week ago, only a couple of days after my husband and I announced my pregnancy to our whole family, and only days before the start of the semester, I discovered that my mom had removed my name from my Florida Prepaid account. Using her status as account owner, she made herself the beneficiary without telling me and removed my dad as the joint approver, thereby blocking me from receiving the funds for my business degree and housing. The thought that my mom, who always encouraged me to pursue graduate studies, would block my account just as I was about to use it was heart-wrenching and felt unimaginable. I never believed that someone who was supposed to love me would take these actions, and I feel that they were taken as a vindictive attempt to punish me for having a relationship with my dad.

My husband and I, who have been married for just over two years, are both in our final year of graduate study at the University of Florida and expecting our first child. Throughout high school, I worked hard to get an early start on my undergraduate degree and graduated after only two more years. Because of this, I was able to save part of my Florida Prepaid plan to use toward a master’s degree and married housing. I have always dreamed of continuing my education, and with the credits left in my account, which Florida Prepaid states can be used for graduate coursework, I believed that I had a clear path to finish graduate school without crushing our family under debt.

We discovered this betrayal during a casual email exchange with UF’s housing team to link my Florida Prepaid account to my married housing. During this conversation, I was told that the account number I had been using wasn’t under my name anymore but was now under my mom’s. This didn’t cause me much concern because I felt that my mom and I had a loving relationship and had even made dinner plans for that week. When I reached out to her about fixing the situation, she replied after about a day and a half, telling me that I put myself in this position, that the account was no longer for my use, and that she would rather not see us that night. It was crushing to learn that a person I deeply trusted, and who I understand to have no urgent need for this money, would withhold my college funds, even though I had expressed how important they were for my future.

I have also reached out to Florida Prepaid about restoring my status as beneficiary, only to find out that my mom had made these changes months before without me ever being informed and that there is not much I can do without entering a long and expensive legal process. This is because my mom has the status of Account Owner, a status given exclusively to one parent on any Prepaid account. With our baby on the way and time-sensitive registration for classes, my husband and I cannot afford the cost of a long, drawn-out legal fight. Although we are still searching for other procedural solutions, the situation is very disheartening and reveals a gap in Florida Prepaid’s policy that I feel allows parents to take advantage of their children.

Although I did not want to make this public, the urgent and costly nature of the situation has left me no other choice. I have started this GoFundMe to help cover my tuition and housing and to raise awareness about this issue while continuing my studies, graduating, and giving my family the future we’ve been working toward. I’ve come so far and don’t want to lose the chance to finish graduate school, especially with our baby on the way. We are only asking for the amount that was withheld from us (images of the account balance are included), and any money that is given will go directly toward covering my tuition and housing so I can finish my degree and build a better future for my family.

Any help you can give, whether through a donation, sharing this page, or simply offering words of encouragement, means a lot. Thank you for taking the time to read my story and for supporting us during this important chapter of our lives.

If you would like to support me through my business, here is the link: https://www.depop.com/loveofold/

EDIT: The original calculated goal was based on outdated numbers for credit hour costs which is why we changed the number. For the cost per credit hour prices that were used in calculation, see: https://www.sfa.ufl.edu/cost/undergraduate-costs/