Please help me raise funds for legal battles.

Friends, this is one of the hardest things I've had to do. It's an admission of failure, defeat, and the fact that I cannot do things on my own. It's also an airing of dirty laundry, which makes my skin crawl.

My ex-wife, who many of you know, is taking me to court for failure to pay child support. It sounds horrible, I know. It is.

Allow me to elaborate:

I was laid off last September and was unable to secure comparable work for quite some time. I was able to pay her the ordered support for another month and a half. Since I wasn't finding work in the industry that I had come out of, I switched careers to real estate which requires taking a class, passing state exams, getting hooked up with a broker, then building your brand and making a sale before you make any money on it. There's a lot of up-front costs associated with this before it becomes what can be a very lucrative career.

In the meantime, I started driving for Uber to just survive. There's not much money in it, especially with the way gas prices have been going and when your ten-year old jeep burns out its clutch.

I informed Tammy (the ex) of this plan, and asked her to be patient, and that involving the courts in this in order to amend the support order during this transition period, only to have them amend it again when I started making more would be a waste of money on court fees and lawyer fees that could be better spent on taking care of the kids, which is the entire goal of child support.

They are not having a hard time getting by. Tammy doesn't work, and never really has, but she has a house, several vehicles, a lawyer, and an accountant.

I passed my real estate exam. I am affiliated with a broker. I am scheduled to close my first listing next week, which will be my first real paycheck since September. I'm also still driving for Uber and I've picked up shifts as a doorman at a local pub. It's been a long precarious slog, but things are looking up.

But now the courts are involved. She has a lawyer. I don't. I know I'll get crushed in there without one, and all the progress I've made to getting back on my feet will be swept from me.

I hate asking for help. I hate even admitting I'm having a rough time. My life was blown apart over the past five years financially, emotionally, physically, and mentally. I've been building it up ever since starting from less than zero. I need your help. Just another couple hurdles to get on a good track.

The worst part of this all is that no one wins. It's all a petty waste of time and money because two adults can't discuss things in a civil manner. Everyone loses.

And my kids are losing the most.

Well, the courts and lawyers are winning, I guess.

Anything at all that can help would be greatly appreciated.

Humbly, and with my love,

Mike