Family Lawyer Fund
Donation protected
Background Information:
You know those stories that only ever happen on TV or at the movies? You know the ones that are so off the wall crazy that there is no way it would ever happen in real life? Well this is one of those stories and if it hadn’t happened to me personally, if it had been someone else telling this story I would have been the first person to call B.S. Seriously this stuff isn’t supposed to happen in real life, but yet it has.
So long story short, if it's possible to make it short. Back in February I discovered that it was possible I might have a four year old daughter that I didn't know about. I also discovered that my possible daughter was in foster care. Fast forward a few months, add in a DNA test, and a talk with a case worker and it was confirmed that I am indeed the father of an adorable four year old girl named Jessica.
In the months that followed I was originally very thankful that I had been assigned a lawyer to my case free of charge. The idea if that the lawyer would put in the paper work for the intervene for the foster care and me to get custody and/or placement of Jessica. In addition to that we would be able to set up a visitation process so that I could meet my daughter and allow her to adjust to moving from her foster family to my home.
Well it's been almost 5 months since then and at this point I still haven't met Jessica and the custody/placement court date is less than two months away. In that time I've onIy met with my current lawyer once for about 20 minutes and maybe talked to him on the phone for a total of 10 minutes. I realize, and as any court appointed official can tell you, almost all court appointed lawyers have beyond the max case load and can't devote all their time to the cases presented to them.
So that's why we're here. My wife and I are hoping to be able to fund a dedicated family lawyer whose focus is our case without destroying our finanical ablitiy to provide for Jessica in the process.
Right now we've already missed out on so many things and really don't want to miss out on anymore. For that we need your help. To be completely honest, we're not sure of the funds required for a dedicated lawyer. With the rates averaging between 250.00 - 300.00 per hour worked in addition to any court costs the estimate that was givento us by a lawyer before we were appointed one was between 10k to 15k.
Honestly we're hoping it won't be nearly that much. With DNA test being done and Jessica being found the hard part should be completed. Anything that doesn't go to the lawyer or court cost will go to setting up a college fund for Jessica.
Thank you again, Any questions I can answer without hindering the case are welcome, and I'll add an FAQ if It's needed."
You know those stories that only ever happen on TV or at the movies? You know the ones that are so off the wall crazy that there is no way it would ever happen in real life? Well this is one of those stories and if it hadn’t happened to me personally, if it had been someone else telling this story I would have been the first person to call B.S. Seriously this stuff isn’t supposed to happen in real life, but yet it has.
So long story short, if it's possible to make it short. Back in February I discovered that it was possible I might have a four year old daughter that I didn't know about. I also discovered that my possible daughter was in foster care. Fast forward a few months, add in a DNA test, and a talk with a case worker and it was confirmed that I am indeed the father of an adorable four year old girl named Jessica.
In the months that followed I was originally very thankful that I had been assigned a lawyer to my case free of charge. The idea if that the lawyer would put in the paper work for the intervene for the foster care and me to get custody and/or placement of Jessica. In addition to that we would be able to set up a visitation process so that I could meet my daughter and allow her to adjust to moving from her foster family to my home.
Well it's been almost 5 months since then and at this point I still haven't met Jessica and the custody/placement court date is less than two months away. In that time I've onIy met with my current lawyer once for about 20 minutes and maybe talked to him on the phone for a total of 10 minutes. I realize, and as any court appointed official can tell you, almost all court appointed lawyers have beyond the max case load and can't devote all their time to the cases presented to them.
So that's why we're here. My wife and I are hoping to be able to fund a dedicated family lawyer whose focus is our case without destroying our finanical ablitiy to provide for Jessica in the process.
Right now we've already missed out on so many things and really don't want to miss out on anymore. For that we need your help. To be completely honest, we're not sure of the funds required for a dedicated lawyer. With the rates averaging between 250.00 - 300.00 per hour worked in addition to any court costs the estimate that was givento us by a lawyer before we were appointed one was between 10k to 15k.
Honestly we're hoping it won't be nearly that much. With DNA test being done and Jessica being found the hard part should be completed. Anything that doesn't go to the lawyer or court cost will go to setting up a college fund for Jessica.
Thank you again, Any questions I can answer without hindering the case are welcome, and I'll add an FAQ if It's needed."
Organizer
David Brian Planas
Organizer
Omaha, NE