No Abuse of Discretion Where Financial Disparity In Parties’ Income At Issue.
In our category “Family Law,” we have reported on numerous cases awarding attorney’s fees to one side in a dissolution case. As with any other litigation, the circumstances are frequently the real difference in a decision one way or the other. However, “needs” based awards under Family Code section 2032 often come down to a financial analysis of which party can truly bear the price of the family law litigation.
Wife in Marriage of Dobbs, Case No. A125894 (1st Dist., Div. 3 Feb. 11, 2010) (unpublished) won the upper hand by being awarded both spousal support and $24,000 in attorney’s fees. Husband appealed, but lost. Husband earned $8,500 per months, versus wife’s earning of about $2,800 a month.
The fee award was affirmed. Aside from the economic disparity, evidence showed wife carried a disproportionate share of credit card burden on behalf of the community. No abuse of discretion with respect to the fee order.