by Robin Roshkind, Esquire, West Palm Beach, Florida
Friends, neighbors, co workers and family members are all well meaning in giving divorcing couples lots of advice. But when it comes to attorneys fees, there are two schools of thought. The first is, If you are the major breadwinner, not only will you pay for your own divorce lawyer, you may have to pay for your spouse’ divorce lawyer too. The second opinion is, If the incomes are about the same, each party pays for their own divorce lawyer. This is not totally true.
Where incomes are greatly divergent, the “have not” spouse can motion the court for the other spouse to pay his/her divorce lawyer. The court may grant the entire amount or a fraction of the amount, depending upon one spouse’ need and the other’s ability to pay.
If the parties are relatively equal in assets and incomes, chances are each pays for their own divorce. Where there is a catch, is in the Florida case of Rosen v. Rosen, which is based upon the premise of egregious litigation. If one party causes vexatious litigation unnecessarily, that party will pay a portion or all of the divorce lawyers fees for the other party’s divorce lawyer for unreasonably prolonging the agony. The operative word here is “unreasonably”.
If a party is merely exercising one’s right to documents, therapy or whatever, they are entitled to do that. However, if the litigation draws long, due to UNREASONABLE actions, such as with holding information, judges will recognize this upon evidence presented, and grant attorneys fees to the wronged party.
If you would like more information about this or other divorce topics, call one of the divorce lawyers at ROBIN ROSHKIND, P.A. at 561 835 9091 or click on the Firm’s web site at http://www.familylawwpb.com for more information.
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