Hey TD ---
I am divorced, but it all took place a long, long, long time ago...lol BUT, I do remember what I did, and how I got a good atty.
"... I made a poor judgment call in hiring a personal acquaintance to be my lawyer as he agreed to let me make payments on the fees instead of needing to pay all up front..."
Two things....1) You've admitted that you made a mistake; that's a step in the right direction.... (o: and 2) I don't know about atty's in Georgia, but most atty's in California and Texas will take payments.....this is ES&H here.... lol
My best suggestion for you would be to open up your yellow pages and go right to the beginning of the listings for atty's; there should be something similar to Attorney Referral Services (you can get a bit of advice, and directions to good atty's for you). Another good listing is for your city and/or county's lawyer referral services (many with free referrals and some with 'first half-hour free'. There should also be a number for your local bar associations (city, county, and state)....good places to ask questions. I could go on, but I don't have a good light here, and I got old eyes, and the print in my yellow pages is a bit too small.....for me, anyway.....
I wish you well, and no matter how the 'other side' acts, I've always found it better to just try to ...... 'rise above.' (rather than being drawn down to the depths) ......... (o:
NoelleR