Divorce Case Here Was a “Belizian” To-Do.
Marriage of Wade, Case No. B230601 (2d Dist., Div. 7 Feb. 18, 2014) (unpublished) was a Belizian-flavored dissolution proceeding: ex-wife and her son, from Belize, were granted asylum from the U.S.; she met and married her ex-husband, also from Belize, in the U.S.; and husband helped collect rents from Wade Property Management, a family business holding commercial properties by husband’s parents, who are from Belize. The in-laws appealed a provisional $50,000 fee award granted in favor of ex-wife and against in-laws both under Family Code section 2030 (needs based award) and 271 (sanctions for unnecessary litigation activities) in the divorce proceeding between ex-wife and ex-husband.
This award got affirmed on appeal. After all, there was a disparity in cash flow: ex-wife received $12,000 annually from one property, while parents apparently received $192,963 in annual rental income based on tax information attached to income and expense declarations. It did not help that in-laws “hid” an $180,000 certificate of deposit which they later had to ‘fess up to. All of these facts supported a 2030-based fee award. Beyond that, in-laws had made ex-wife attend close to 30 hearings on various motions and face responding to well over 300 discovery requests, enough to justify a 271 sanctions finding.