Hello to all:

I am new to the Forums, but I do have some issues that need some legal advice regarding a divorce. If this does not post as intended, I apologize. I haven't figured out how to do this posting correctly. I could use some advice here also. I guess this is my introduction.

My husband filed for a divorce on the second day that I was in the hospital having radical back surgery (April 28, 2005. He refused to take me to the hospital and I had to get my 34 year daughter who lived 50 miles from me to come take me to the hospital. My husband would not get out of bed and pretended to be asleep when I left. I told him I would be back in a few days, and he said, "Don't think that you are coming back here for me to take care of you". So I went to my Mother's and stayed about 8 months to recuperate. I had to go on disability after the surgery because I am unable to work a permanent job. My husband said that I left him and he did not know where I was. That is a ball face lie. Anyway, my divorce has not been settled because he refuses to reach an agreement about the equity in both of our homes. (You see, when we married, I owned a home and was making monthly payments. He never paid any payments on the house, and because I was working and struggling to pay electric bill, water, groceries, etc, he just paid his bills from a previous marriage and spend his paycheck the way he wanted to.) Needless to say, I was probably stupid for letting it go that way, but I really was trying to work out our marriage. We have been married since Nov. 19, 1994. He had become distant, unloving, unkind, rude, and uncompassionate. To this day, He cannot say what I have done to make him want a divorce.

In 2003, he received a settlement from his place of employment where he was injured and went on disability. It was over $125,000. He also owned some land in another county and we built a home there (claiming that he used all of this money in the home. Although, he did a lot of the work himself I cannot believe that he spent all of this money on the home that we built). I helped with the building and moved in around mid-October 2004 and worked until April 26, 2005. My surgery was scheduled April 29, 2005, which he knew about but refused to let me come home from the hospital.

We have been through 2 judges, one of which, dismissed the case because our attorneys got into a shouting match. Now my attorney wants to withdraw from the case, because I have not paid her anything since she took the case. At the time she took the case, I paid her $500 with the understanding that her final fee would come from the equity in the houses when the divorce was final. (Three years have passed and we have been in and out of court for different things regarding the divorce, one of which my husband would not let me come back to the house to get my belongings. I had to take the police with me in order to get the gate unlocked.) I am so tired and angry. I need help!

I have a few questions: (1) Has my attorney broken any legal laws by requesting to withdraw because I have not paid anything more on her fee (which now is over $5,000) after she made the agreement to request that my husband be responsible for her fee in the motion for the divorce? and (2) How do I go about finding an attorney who will stand up for me and fight for what is right for me? (3) Would I be out of line to contact the Bar Association?

If anyone has any advice, please let me know.
jd