Help me get my daughter back

Hi, my name is Brad.

I feel really uncomfortable about having to do this but I realise I am desperate and I would like to ask for your help.

I would like to ask for your help to raise funds to cover legal fees, let me tell you a little bit about what's going on.

My now-separated wife, asked me to move out of our house in October 2022, as she told me she fell out of love with me and had found a new boyfriend. We have a 2-year-old daughter together. I have reluctantly moved back into my parent's house who I must say, are very supportive and caring. At this point the care of my daughter was split between me and my ex-wife, which meant it was around a 70/30 split, 70% being in my care, as I have always worked around my ex-wife full-time hours.

Fast forward to early February, my ex-wife informs me she has a new job with which she told me I would have to care for our daughter Monday to Friday, returning back to mum Friday evenings until Sunday evenings, which was fine by me. I was more than happy with this arrangement as it meant I had more time with my daughter.

Since this arrangement, I enrolled my daughter into a private nursery for 2 days a week, which at present is all I can afford, and I think is enough for 2 year old. I work as a restaurant manager in a fast food outlet the two days my daughter is at nursery and the 2 days she is with her mum. Although I am a manager, it is a very low wage as it is and can only work part-time.

I felt it reasonable that because I am the main carer, that I apply for child maintenance and ask for child benefit to be granted to me instead of mum. This is when things started to change, I had recently been awarded child maintenance, which meant my daughter's mother had to pay me the lower rate of child maintenance each month, the first payment is due in April. All of a sudden, my daughter's mum decided she wanted to spend more time with our daughter and have more overnight stays with her. I truly believe that this is only for financial control, not that she wants to spend more time with our daughter.

Things have escalated very quickly since this to the point where I handed our daughter over to her mum on Friday 10th of March for her weekend care and received a text from her mum on Sunday the 12th of March stating "It's been recommended that as I have a concern for *daughters name* welfare I'll take *daughters name* until there's a legal arrangement so there's no handover tonight, ill take care of childcare in the meantime." I was devastated so my parents rushed me over to our daughter's, mums new boyfriend's house to question why this was happening. We were told that my daughter wasn't there and wouldn't tell me where she was.

We have involved the police and social services with no luck. Police did a facetime "welfare check" and deemed her to be safe and told us we were not allowed to know where she is.

Every day since this has happened, I have rung police, social services, and solicitors to seek advice. Police and social services told me outright, "your daughter is safe" and closed the case.

I want my little girl back. It took her a long time to settle her into this new routine between households. I worked hard to get her into a bedtime routine, potty trained and even started ballet for toddlers as well as settling her into her new nursery, where she was becoming confident and happy. All the police and social services are telling me to do, is take this matter to court, which I am now initiating.

BUT

This is where I need your help. I never realised how much this would all cost. I don't qualify for legal aid, as I have not suffered domestic abuse. The solicitor that we have chosen, has quoted in total, which includes; consultations, and 2 to 3 court hearings. Which will total approximately £5000. My parents want to help, but they too are on low incomes.

At this point, I have no shame in asking for help.

Here is a picture of my daughter. This has truly broken my heart

If I do reach my given goal it will be truly and deeply appreciated. If by chance it exceeds the goal, I will only accept what I am asking for and donate the rest of the funds to a charity that will help out similar dads in my situation.