Attorney Retainer for Sasha

Hey everyone! This has been the hardest thing for me to attempt to do, ask for help. But I'm at a point in my life that I have to set my pride to the side and ask for help. On August 15 I will begin my divorce trial and at that point I will need my lawyer to represent me and unfortunately this will require another $4,000 retainer. After mutually deciding to separate back in early 2021, after years of mental abuse, my ex husband has exasperated all avenues to avoid divorce. He has avoided all financial responsibilities as a father since and has it under his own accord that I am well off enough to support our children and myself on one salary, while continuing to pay bills we collected as a married couple. I have spent close to $8000 already in attorney fees to try and get us divorced in the easiest way for both ourselves and our children.

As of today my ex husband has fired two attorneys and now has somehow hired a men's only law firm. My lawyer worked beyond the retainer that was paid for and tried to settle it by doing all the leg work of writing out our parenting plan and consent of final judgement because he knew I really had no money to pay him another retainer. On May 10 we sent over the final versions to him and his then lawyer and they said they would review and get back to us. This was final versions that Michael and I agreed & benefited him. This is long after mediation where he showed up unprepared and wasted $500 of my money then. The final consent judgement and the parenting plan were all in his favor. His payment to me would be $348 a month and I would have majority time share, responsible for my children's health insurance and I forfeited my 401k inheritance. More to it but that's the big pieces of it. On 5/26 my lawyer calls me to tell me the his lawyer quit the firm. Then we find out on 5/30 that he's now retained a men's only lawyer and they refuse to talk at all to us and want to set it for trial. Well here we are in July, still receiving no help from him, still taking care of my kids by myself, school starts next month and I just had my car vandalized costing me a minimum $500 deductible. Between draining my accounts to pay for daycare for a year by myself, paying for everything my children need in necessities, I just don't have the means to come up with another retainer. I am blessed to have the family and partner I have now, but they have also exasperated all help to me through this. Between helping me with babysitting, groceries, mental breaks (the depression has been one for the books), they have no way to help me financially. I am never the one to reach out for help but Im asking for a little help. My first deposition is set for 8/15 where they will be now trying to get spousal income on top of many other things, and I am now not sure how I'm going to manage this move, get my kids ready for school and somehow be able to pay my lawyer so I have the correct representation. If you have it in your heart to help me out, I would never forget it. If you aren't capable I completely understand. Please send me a prayer because I need it. Thank you for taking the time to consider.