Recovery of Attorney’s Fees

In Florida family law matters, the Court has the discretion to order that one party pay the  attorney’s fees and costs of the other party.  When making this determination, the first thing the court must consider is the financial situation of each of the parties.  The party requesting the award must show their need as well as the opposing party’s ability to pay the award.  This financial consideration will include not only the incomes of each party, but also their assets and liabilities.

The court will also consider any unreasonable demands or positions taken during the course of the family law action at issue.  This is particularly important when one party has substantially more income or financial resources than the other party.  In these cases, the financially superior party may attempt to cause unnecessary fees to be incurred by the opposing party so that they may no longer be able to afford to pay their attorney.

A court may award all or a portion of the fees and costs incurred.  A reasonable hourly rate will be considered as well as a reasonable number of hours for service.  The party awarded the fees may not have been the party which prevailed during the action.

If you believe that attorney’s fees and costs will be an issue in your family law matter, it is imperative that you have an experienced trial attorney on your side.  At Family Law of Orlando, Attorney Wade P. Luther has the experience and knowledge you’ll need to prevail.  Please contact our office to schedule an initial consultation with Mr. Luther.