I am so sorry for the situation.  Generally speaking, you do not need an attorney to bring a lawsuit as long as you know how to prosecute the case.  And each state has a "small claims" court that allows a party to bring a law suit against another party with out the need for large filing fees and to help the pro se plaintiff (you) to be able to have the other party served in accordance with the law, etc.  New Mexico, I believe, has such courts called "magistrate court" that has a limit for suit amount up to $10,000.00.  I am going to give you the link to the court system here.  This way you can start looking in to the matter in greater detail.  Good luck.   http://www.nmcourts.gov/newface/about/index.html