Marriage of Dawes & West-Dawes, Case No. H037291 (6th Dist. Dec. 21, 2012) (unpublished) involved a dissolution proceeding for a 17 year marriage producing 3 kids. The wife had the much more meager income, with the court saying the husband produced 87% of the parties’ combined incomes. However, wife apparently received possibly up to $307,492 in misappropriated income from her mother’s assets. The trial court awarded wife $50,000 in Family Code section 2030/2032 needs-based fees based primarily on the income statements but not necessarily factoring in the “misappropriated income.”
The Sixth District reversed upon husband’s appeal, finding that the lower court needed to consider whether the money wife obtained from mother should be factored into the needs-based award.