Sarah's Child Custody Legal Expense Fundraiser

*IF YOU KNOW SARAH, PLEASE DO NOT TAG HER OR MENTION HER LAST NAME IN POSTS. IF YOU KNOW OR ARE CONNECTED TO THE CHILD’S FATHER VIA ANY SOCIALS, PLEASE KEEP POSTS PRIVATE  OR BLOCK HIM FOR HER SAFETY*
Sarah and her daughter, pictured above, are in danger of being separated and need immediate assistance raising funds for legal intervention.  
I've known Sarah since 2006 and from that time, the most remarkable trait I've witnessed is her love and dedication to caring for children.  When we met, she was a nanny caring for the children of others.  Over the years, she has cared for and helped me raise my children and now, she is raising her own daughter.  She has an incredible bond with her daughter and is one of the most thoughtful, caring and patient mothers I know.   
Since the birth of her daughter, Sarah has been entangled in an abusive relationship with her daughter's father.  Under threat of her daughter being taken away, Sarah stayed in this abusive relationship for many years.  In March 2020, she made the decision to permanently leave her aubser and that's when her daughter's father made good on his threats.  He filed a false restraining order against Sarah making claims that she was abusive to him and stating that he was afraid of her.  Sarah had to hire a lawyer for the first time in August 2020  to defend herself against this.  During that time, Sarah had to adhere to the restraining order and was unable to be with her daughter for 3 months- missing her 5th birthday and her first day of kindergarten.  With the help of her lawyer and evidence that she diligently collected, Sarah was able to prove that the restraining order had no merit and it was dismissed (after paying her lawyer $8,500).  
Shortly after this, her daughter's father started dating a woman who lives on the other side of the country.  He introduced this woman to Sarah's daughter and Sarah later found out that her daughter was told that she was going to have a 'new mother' and move across the country to live with her.  Her daughter was terrified at the thought of being away from Sarah.  
Sarah immediately retained another lawyer ($5,000) and began working to prevent her daughter's father from being able to take her outside of the town where she currently resides.  The court required a custody evaluator to determine who the child will ultimately live with.  The public evaluator is currently so overwhelmed with cases, that it would be November before Sarah's case would be started, at which time, her daughter could already be taken to another state (his plan was to move at the end of May).  Sarah was forced to hire a private custody evaluator and there is now an order against anyone taking her daughter outside of the town where they currently live.  
This is a big win, but the process is not over yet and Sarah has incurred a significant amount of debt in the process.  

Sarah works in the film industry and was hit hard by the pandemic.  Between lack of work and the time she has needed to dedicate to this case, she has not been able to retain employment.  She is currently receiving welfare assistance as well as  pandemic unemployment assistance.  She has started working for a food delivery service, but the income she earns from that is not sufficient to cover her cost of living let alone the enormous legal bills she now has to pay.  

The breakdown of her legal fees are as follows:

$8,500 lawyer fees to defeat the wrongful restraining order brought against her
$5,000 retainer fee for her lawyer February, 2021
$10,000 lawyer fees for March
$12,000 lawyer fees for April
$14,000 lawyer fees for May
$5,000 retainer fee for private custody evaluator (the public custody evaluator is not available to view her case until 11/2021 at which point Sarah's daughter would have already left the state with her dad)
$4,000 monthly fee for private custody evaluator

Thank you for taking the time to read through our fundraiser.  If you are able to donate, we are extremely grateful.  
If you are unable to donate, please post this or share it with friends to spread awareness.

With sincere gratitude, 

Rachel