Can’t Afford to Hire a Divorce Attorney? Ask the Court to Make Your Spouse Pay for Your Lawyer!

Depending on your financial situation, if your spouse has filed for divorce or is working with an attorney on a dissolution, and you can’t afford an attorney to assist you, you may be able to ask the Court to order your spouse to pay for your divorce attorney!

I had a woman recently contact me after her husband filed for divorce against her. This was what she told me:

“My husband has filed for divorce against me. We have been married for 15 years and have two children. He just got a promotion and is making between $80,000 and $90,000. Before that, he made over $70,000 the last few years.

My husband has always controlled the money and only would give me enough so I could get the money orders needed to pay our bills. I always had to ask him if I needed money for anything. I have not worked in 3 years because I have been home taking care of our son who has special needs. I have contacted attorneys and cannot afford to hire them for my divorce. What can I do?”

R.C. 3105.73(A) provides as follows: “In an action for divorce, dissolution, legal separation, or annulment of marriage or an appeal of that action, a court may award all or part of reasonable attorney's fees and litigation expenses to either party if the court finds the award equitable. In determining whether an award is equitable, the court may consider the parties' marital assets and income, any award of temporary spousal support, the conduct of the parties, and any other relevant factors the court deems appropriate.”
An award of attorney’s fees only requires that an attorney fee award would be equitable—or fair.

Generally, during a divorce/dissolution proceeding, attorney fees are considered part of an award of temporary spousal support.

The court will not only consider you inability to pay your attorney; rather, you need to demonstrate that your spouse can pay and that it is fair for them to do so.

Here are many of the factors a Court will consider when deciding on whether to award attorneys fees to a spouse:

1) The income of the parties, from all sources, including, but not limited to, income derived from property divided, disbursed, or distributed under section 3105.171 of the Revised Code;

2) The relative earning abilities of the parties;

3) The ages and the physical, mental, and emotional conditions of the parties;

4) The retirement benefits of the parties;

5) The duration of the marriage;

6) The extent to which it would be inappropriate for a party, because that party will be custodian of a minor child of the marriage, to seek employment outside the home;

7) The standard of living of the parties established during the marriage;

8) The relative extent of education of the parties;

9) The relative assets and liabilities of the parties, including but not limited to any court-ordered payments by the parties;

10) The contribution of each party to the education, training, or earning ability of the other party, including, but not limited to, any party's contribution to the acquisition of a professional degree of the other party;

11) The time and expense necessary for the spouse who is seeking spousal support to acquire education, training, or job experience so that the spouse will be qualified to obtain appropriate employment, provided the education, training, or job experience, and employment is, in fact, sought;

12) The tax consequences, for each party, of an award of spousal support;

13) The lost income production capacity of either party that resulted from that party's marital responsibilities;

14) Any other factor that the court expressly finds to be relevant and equitable.

If you have any questions about this, please contact me for a free consultation!