A move to Ashburton from Hawke's Bay was supposed to improve Chante Harmer and her family's lives.
Instead, the move "orchestrated events that have left her whanau broken and changed their lives forever", her cousin, Ashleigh Harmer, wrote.
The 30-year-old, along with her two youngest children, 19-month-old Te Awanuiarangi Shayelous-Jay Matenga Tapiata-Harmer and eight-month-old Wysdom Amara Francis Tony Jane Tapiata-Harmer, died in a "horror" crash on Monday.
Emergency services were called to the crash at the intersection of Mitcham Rd and Hepburns Rd, north of Ashburton, just after 10am.
The family was travelling in a green Holden Astra, heading north along Hepburns Rd, which is controlled by give way signs.