Wife Had Been Found To Violate Family Law Restraining Order By Selling Sale Of Assets After Separatio
In Marriage of Bracken and Gibson, Case No. A145337 (1st Dist., Div. 4 Sept. 7, 2017) (unpublished), wife was found to violate the family law restraining order which occurs when a dissolution petition is served by selling certain stock options after separation from husband and without court consent. The family law judge awarded husband $1,353 for this breach of fiduciary duty, but did not award attorney’s fees associated with the recovery of this additional amount. That was error under Family Code section 1101(g), because the court lacks discretion and must award an appropriate amount of fees in such a context. The remedy was a remand for the family court to fix the fees for this breach of fiduciary duty.