The Court Can Make An Order Forcing Your Ex-Spouse To Pay For Your Legal Fees
The trial court’s order for a husband to pay spousal support, child support, and his wife’s legal expenses in the case of In re the Marriage of Keech left the husband with only $93 per month for all his other necessary expenses after payment of rent, support obligations, taxes, and contribution to the wife’s accountant and attorney fees without considering the husband’s ability to pay. The court should have also considered the husband’s need to pay his own legal fees.
The trial court incorrectly ordered the husband to contribute to the wife’s fees for her accountant and attorney without considering the husband’s ability to pay, the respective litigation needs of the parties, and whether the fees alleged to be incurred were reasonably necessary, as required by Family Code sections 2030 and 2032.
Family Code sections 2030 and 2032 require a court to consider the spouse’s ability to pay, the each party’s litigation needs, and whether the fees alleged to be incurred were reasonably necessary. In order to determine whether the attorney fees were reasonably necessary, a court will consider factors including the nature of the litigation and its difficulty, the amount involved, the skill required and the skill employed in handling the litigation; the attention given; the success of the attorney’s efforts and his or her learning, age, and experience in the particular type of work demanded; the intricacies and importance of the litigation, the labor and necessity for skilled legal training and ability in trying the case; and time consumed.
Although the court may take these factors into account when deciding whether to award attorney’s fees, the Court has and will continue to award attorney’s fees based on the party’s ability to pay. Los Angeles divorce and child custody lawyer Michael S. Carrillo will explore all possibilities in your case, including the possibility that the other party (your ex-husband or ex-wife) may pay for your attorney’s fees. It is important to hire an experienced and competent attorney to represent you in order to seek all possible remedies and benefits you could be entitled to in your divorce, child custody, child support, or spousal support case. Give our office a call immediately and we can provide you with a free consultation about your case and help lead you in the right direction. We will fight hard for you. Call us now at (626) 799-9379.