Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

How much in temporary attorney’s fees will a court require a party to pay in a Florida divorce? Determination of attorney’s fees is on a case-by-case basis, and the court must primarily analyze a party’s need for fees and the other party’s ability to pay fees. This was an issue in the case Hasson v. Hasson, 4D21-1282 (Fla. 4th DCA May 25, 2022).

As part of the parties’ ongoing divorce case, the husband was ordered to pay temporary fees and costs in the amount of $80,000 to the wife within 10 days. The court additionally ordered further monthly payments toward fees after that time. The testimony at the hearing indicated the husband’s money was coming from his father, and at his father’s discretion. The court also relied on the husband’s $1.5 million in assets to determine he had the ability to pay fees. The husband appealed.

The appellate court reversed, holding the wife did not demonstrate a need for fees where she did not testify at the hearings and did not file a financial affidavit. The court further held “Moreover, the evidence was insufficient to demonstrate that the husband had the ability to pay the fees as required by the order, particularly given that the order required two large lump sum payments (totaling $80,000) to be made within 10 days of the order without clear findings that the husband had the ability to pay the large amounts within that time frame. The evidence suggested that husband’s money came from his father and that the husband used the money at his father’s direction. Indeed, the husband testified multiple times that he has no income source available to pay the fees ordered, and he would not have any ability to pay the fees or his expenses without his father paying. The trial court appeared to acknowledge this throughout the hearings yet came to a contrary conclusion in the order on appeal.”

The court went on “Reversible error occurs when a trial court orders an individual to make a large lump-sum payment without competent substantial evidence that the individual can make the payment in the time frame ordered. [. . .] Finally, the trial court relied on husband’s alleged $1,500,000 in assets to demonstrate that he can pay wife’s fees. But the evidence showed the assets are not liquid – the assets’ first source is the equity invested in the house where wife and the children reside. The second source is the equity invested in another house where husband receives rental income, which he uses to pay a portion of his support obligations. While a court is not prevented from considering non-liquid assets when determining ability to pay temporary fees, here, the court did not make sufficient findings showing that the husband could convert these assets to cash in order to pay the wife’s fees within the time frame ordered.”

Schedule your meeting with a Miami divorce attorney to discover how the law may apply to your case and what you can do to prepare to defend yourself.