Case law rarely attempts to define it, but examples include blatant lying, hiding income, refusing a nearly perfect settlement offer, and overly litigious behavior. Fees awards for bad behavior must not exceed what the innocent spouse paid or will pay because of the bad action s. Sometimes the law authorizes or requires an award of fees to the prevailing party in certain subsets of proceedings, such as a motion for a protective order whoever wins might get fees , contempt moving party always receives fees if opposing party found in contempt , or discovery disputes moving party usually receives fees if successful on the underlying motion.
These topics go beyond the scope of this article. In rare instances, the parties have a contract providing for an award of fees, such a prenuptial agreement or settlement agreement. The court usually complies with whatever the contract states. If you request fees, make sure to present evidence to support your argument. Make sure to submit a financial declaration and sealed financial source documents if you request fees on the basis of need and ability.
With respect to fees based on need and ability, you can usually reassert your request even if you made the same request previously and regardless the outcome of the prior request. This helps ensure your fee award is not undone on appeal or remanded for more fact-finding.
Do your best to help improve your financial position on your own. The court can impute you — deem you to have income you do not have — if you are not doing your best to support yourself. If you are a homemaker, the court should give you a little time to get on your feet before imputing you, but temporary orders often require housewives and househusbands to find work and submit a weekly job-search log.
If you are hoping to request fees while your case is still proceeding, see our article on How to Get Temporary Orders. We hope this was helpful.
Allowing attorney fees is never automatic, nor is it mandated simply upon a showing that one spouse has a slightly greater ability to pay the fees It is insufficient to merely show that the parties' incomes differ significantly When determining an award of attorney fees, the allocation of assets and liabilities and the relative earning abilities of the parties should be considered Regarding earnings, the court may consider both current and prospective income The court may also consider why attorney fees were incurred in the first place and whether one party's conduct precipitated the litigation If it has been determined that an award of fees is appropriate, the trial court must then determine if the fees are reasonable The party seeking fees bears the burden of demonstrating their reasonableness with sufficient evidence While a hearing on the reasonable nature of attorney's fees is not necessary in every case, especially where the trial judge is familiar with the procedural history of the case, the party contesting the award is entitled to a hearing upon request To justify a fee, more must be presented than a mere compilation of hours multiplied by a fixed hourly rate or bills issued to the client, since this type of data, without more, does not provide the court with sufficient information as to their reasonableness - a matter which cannot be determined on the basis of conjecture or on the opinion or conclusions of the attorney seeking the fees In determining the reasonableness of the fee, the trial court's responsibility is not fulfilled merely by inquiring into the number of hours which counsel devoted to the matter Rather, the petition for fees and the proofs offered in support thereof must have some amount of detail giving the court sufficient information to judge the reasonableness, minimally specifying services performed and type of services, who performed the services, the time expended thereon, and the hourly rate charged therefor Because of the importance of these factors, it is incumbent upon the petitioner to present detailed records maintained during the course of litigation containing facts and computations upon which the charges are predicated In the case of computer-stored records, where the records sought to be admitted are summaries of original documents, such as time slips in the case, the original documents must be in court or made available to the opposing party, and the party seeking admission of the summaries must be able to provide the testimony of a competent witness or witnesses who have seen the original documents and can testify to the facts contained therein The party seeking fees must present evidence of the usual and customary fees for like services in the area Further, alleged attorney's fees may be reduced for double billing, billing for unnecessarily applied time, and other situations The Court is not bound by the attorney's opinion as to what constitutes a reasonable fee and must inquire into all of the necessary factors In applying these factors, the trial court may rely on its own knowledge and experience in determining value of legal services The time spent on the case is the factor of greatest importance and an attorney's general statement as to the time spent is an insufficient basis for a fee award; detailed time records are required itemizing both the time expended and the work performed The determination of "reasonableness" is left to the sound discretion of the trial court and will not be reversed on appeal absent an abuse of discretion Quite a lot goes in to seeking a contribution to your legal fees and no litigant should simply assume that their soon to be ex-spouse is going to be ordered to pay all of the fees in the case.
Rather, the claim requires a separate petition, possible additional discovery to determine "reasonableness" and other factors, and sometimes a separate hearing. Clients and their lawyers should be prepared to address all of these issues if they want to try to seek a fee contribution at the end of a divorce case. See also: In re Marriage of Krivi , Ill.
You need to go to court to enforce a child or spousal support order and you need help paying for a lawyer. There are also instances in divorces and legal separations where the judge may order one side to pay a sanction like a fine because he or she behaves in an illegal or unethical way.
Talk to a lawyer for more information on these situations. The forms you will have to fill out, especially Form FL and Form FL , will guide you through a lot of the information the judge will need to make a decision based on the law.
Make sure you fill out those forms completely and accurately. If you already have a lawyer ready to step in to help you, he or she may be able to help you fill out the forms correctly, even if they still want you to file the forms on your own.
Make sure you use the right case number. It should be the case number that appears on your Summons or your Petition. They can make sure you filled it out properly before you move ahead with your request. Copy all of the forms listed under step 1 including any attachments to any of the forms.
One copy will be for you; the other copy will be for the other party. The original is for the court. Turn in your forms original and 2 copies to the court clerk. Have your server the person or persons who mailed or hand-delivered your papers to the other party fill out a proof of service you can use Proof of Personal Service Form FL or Proof of Service by Mail Form FL and give it to you so you can file it with the court.
It is very important that your server fills out the proof of service correctly. If possible, have your family law facilitator or self-help center review it to make sure it was filled out properly. Read Going to Court to find out how to prepare for your court hearing.
If the judge makes a decision at the court hearing, the judge will sign a court order. In other courtrooms, it is the responsibility of the person who asked for the hearing to prepare the court order for the judge to sign. If either side has a lawyer, the lawyer will usually be asked to prepare the order. If you have to prepare the order of the court, you will need to fill out the Findings and Order After Hearing Form FL , and an attachment detailing the orders that the judge made.
Date: January 12, Are you wondering who will foot the bill during a costly divorce? Choosing to participate in a collaborative divorce means you will have access to a financial neutral, which eliminates the need for each party to hire his or her own financial expert. This also helps to minimize the time that each attorney might otherwise spend engaging in the discovery and disclosure aspects of a traditional divorce.
To learn more about the benefits of collaborative divorce, contact one of the professionals at Best Legal Choices today. In a divorce action, each party is generally responsible for compensating their own attorney for services rendered by that attorney and his or her staff. Service provided by a divorce lawyer may include:.
Yes and no, depending on several factors set forth by statute and case law.
0コメント