Grandchild Custody Expenses

Hi, my name is Lexie and I’m the daughter of one of the most compassionate and caring person in the world. To know my mom is to know that she has a huge heart and has tirelessly dedicated most of her life to helping others, even through periods of time when she didn’t have much herself. As a “giver,” this also means my mom isn’t one to ask for support when needed so I’ve decided to do so on her behalf.

Raising us kids came with the usual challenges through periods of being a single mom but my sister’s life long struggle with bipolar disorder added an extra layer. Most recently this was magnified when she developed postpartum depression after the birth of my beautiful nephew and this unfortunately led her to self-medicating - resulting in an opioid addiction. While my mom was able to successfully get my sister into rehab initially, she has since significantly relapsed. I can’t even begin to tell you how helpless and painful it has been for my family to watch my sister spiral on a path of self-destruction and be unable to do anything about it.

Mental illness can be difficult to navigate on its own but addiction on top of that has resulted in homelessness, unemployment and extreme instability placing my nephew at great risk. While CPS was involved, they failed to remove him from this situation so my mother and her husband sprang into action without thinking twice. There was no way they were going to let baby Z go through any more than he’s already been through so they obtained an attorney to begin the long process of petitioning the court for custody.

Baby Z has been temporarily placed with them in the loving and stable home he needs and my mom and her husband are providing the best that they can but the legal expenses for custody are starting to add up. The conservatorship has already cost $4000 and the process isn’t even over yet.

This case resides 4 hours away in the county where Baby Z was residing so pursing this legal process means time off of work and repeated trips back and forth for each step of this process. As you can imagine, that on top of the medical attention needed to get my nephew caught up on vaccinations (he hadn’t been to a doctor since he was 3 months old) along with minor health issues that need addressing to include developmental delays, getting him on a proper diet and trauma remedies to help allay anxiety/separation issues have all been an expensive part of this journey…one that they weren’t prepared for.

While not sleeping through the night is par for the course until he feels safe and secure, numerous adjustments have been made to include a reduced work schedule until the needed resources are built up.

I am trying to help alleviate the mounting financial burden of legal fees in efforts to keep my nephew safe so that the existing limited resources can go towards the caring and providing of my nephew.

Thank you to those who have already helped by getting things baby Z needs off of his Amazon birthday registry. The generosity already shown for baby Z has moved my mom to tears. Your support has meant so much to my family.

We truly appreciate everyone that has already reached out and hope that you will continue to keep my sister in prayer.