First District, Division Four Affirms Fee Award Made Under Family Code section 3153(a).
Family Code section 3153 allows a court to order parents to pay the attorney’s fees for a court-appointed attorney for a minor in a custody dispute. The family law judge must consider the parent’s ability to pay in making this determination and the financial resources of the parties in setting the amount that a parent pays. (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 5.241(b)(1).)
In Marriage of Heierle and Assawasuksant, Case No. A118255 (1st Dist., Div. 4 May 29, 2009) (unpublished), mother was ordered to pay one-half of legal fees ($14,083) for her child’s attorney in a custody dispute under section 3153.
Mother appealed, but the fee award was affirmed.
Initially, the appellate panel dispatched with speed the suggestion that it was an order for additional child support; it was not—it was an order for appointment of counsel.
Because the family law judge also expressly considered mother’s ability to pay (and found she could), the order was not an abuse of discretion.
Finally, mother argued that her ability to pay must be recalculated every time minor’s counsel submits a fee bill. The Court of Appeal found this contention “dubious,” and found she had waived it by not appealing some prior fee determinations along the way.