attorney fees

The problem of finding the funds to retain an attorney is commonly a source of great anxiety for family law litigants. Indeed, one party attempting to force one party to be without legal representation by denying him or her assistance to pay attorney’s fees, or running the other party’s attorney’s fees up through stonewalling and litigious behaviors, is endemic to all family law proceedings.

There are several types of situations where a judge can order one side to pay the other side’s lawyer’s fees. These requests can be made nearly any time during the proceedings and can include a request to be paid fees just to retain a lawyer, or request fees be paid in order to maintain the lawyer that presently represents you. The basis for such request is typically based on one spouse having a better ability to pay for each parties’ fees. As a result, the simple fact that one party earns more than the other or has more assets than the other, can warrant a court making an order for that party to pay attorney’s fees to the other. The fact that the requesting party may have sufficient assets or earning to pay his or her own fees is not the determining factor. For example, a requesting party with $2,000,000 in the bank and able to use those funds to cover his or her own fees may still receive an award of attorney’s fees if the other party has $10,000,000 in the bank. Therefore, the determination is mad eon relative needs for fees and ability to pay those fees.

There is another situation where one side can ask the judge to order the other side to pay funds in the form of a sanction (a fine or a penalty) for doing something that delays the reasonable settlement of the case or take a position that is not supported by the law. This can include rejecting reasonable settlement offers, not complying with discovery and other deadlines or filing motions that are frivolous or not supported by law.

Not having an attorney can have negative life-altering economic and custodial consequences, particularly in a divorce. It certainly has emotional consequences because at times the law seems impossible to decipher and you have no idea how the Family Courts operate. Most everyone would prefer to have a competent legal professional as their guide and advocate and timely seeking attorney’s fees can assist in this regard.