Marriage of Brown, Case No. D063584 (4th Dist., Div. 1 May 9, 2014) (Unpublished).
In this one, a lower court ordered ex-husband (a U.S. military service member) to pay $5,500 in Family Code section 4320 needs-based fees, but ordered them paid as spousal support. Husband argued that the decision to make the order collectible as spousal support presented a hardship, because he was deployed to Afghanistan. The appellate court did not see how his deployment kept him from making monthly payments. Beyond that, making them payable as spousal support actually benefited husband, in that those payments are tax deductible as child support. (26 U.S.C. ¶¶ 71, 215.)
MMarrriage of Moore, Case No. C065210 (3d Dist. May 9, 2014) (Partially Published; Fee Discussion Not Published).
Among other things, ex-wife appealed a pendent lite request for needs-based fees. The problem here was that wife forfeited her challenge by not appealing the earlier order given that temporary attorney’s fee and cost orders are appealable as a final judgment on a collateral matter. (In re Marriage of Tharp, 188 Cal.App.4th 1295, 1311 (2010).)