People always like to say that a loving couple never ends up getting a divorce, but I do not think that is true. No matter how much you love each other, a time can come when both of you are in different positions in your lives and it is normal to disagree on certain things. In other words, a divorce is a solution no matter whether you are in love or not. Unfortunately, these kinds of separations end up being resolved in court and with the help of attorneys.
However, we all know that attorneys do not come cheap. They are expensive, especially when it comes to family law. So, not only do you have to deal with the emotional problems during this divorce, but you also have to worry about your financial problems. More specifically, how you are going to pay for the lawyer.
Fortunately, there are certain cases and situations when you will not have to pay the attorney fee. For such an outcome, you will need to fulfill certain requirements. Whether you fulfill them, you will need to read this article to see who actually will be paying for the ones you are finally resolved.
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Be ready to pay for the attorney fees
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Before you get separated, get a lawyer and go to court, you will need to be ready for any kind of outcome. No matter whether you are right or not, anything could happen. The outcome could be completely different from what you expected. It is always smart not to have any major expectations.
I am trying to say is that you should be ready to pay for the fees of the lawyer either way. Whether you win or lose, you might have to pay for those fees. Because in the end, the judge will decide the outcome.
Usually, the winning and the losing parties pay their own attorneys. Since you are the one who chose to hire one, it is your obligation to take care of the bill.
However, that is not always the case. There are certain situations where you will not have to pay for the attorney fees and we are going to talk about them.
Award of lawyer’s fees
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Often, divorce cases focus on three major subjects. Children, property, and money. The two partners are now being separated which means that the property needs to be split and someone will have to take the majority care of the children. The children can either go to one partner or the other. The same applies to all materialistic possessions.
However, based on the reason behind divorce and the evidence, the judge needs to decide who is going to take the majority of the material possession such as money and property.
For example, if one party has committed adultery, the judge will favor the other party to obtain most of the money and property.
At the same time, based on the judge’s discretion, he or she gets to decide which one of you qualifies for an award of attorney’s fees. What does this mean? Well, this is what you have been looking for. If you do not want to pay for your lawyer or if you cannot afford the fees, a judge decides that your spouse should pay for your fees after the matter is settled in court.
Do you need to ask?
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Another thing you will need to remember is that you need to ask for an award of the lawyer’s costs, otherwise you will not get one. The judge needs to be informed of this. If not, they will not decide on it. It is recommended that the judge is informed as early as possible about this. It is probably best to tell your attorney about your wishes first, as suggested by Kabir Family Law. A good lawyer will make sure that all of your needs and wishes are properly conveyed to the judge.
This will increase the chances to get what you want from your spouse. Otherwise, you will have to pay for those huge costs at the end of the divorce case, and I assume that is definitely not something that you want to happen.
Do you qualify?
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Like I said previously, not every case ends up with the judge deciding an award of attorney’s fees. However, if you want to qualify for such an “award”, here are some of the factors and things that will be considered.
Often, in divorce cases, one of the individuals in a marriage is entitled to receiving alimony. Alimony is basically receiving financial support from your ex-spouse that has been ordered by the judge. So, if the judge has ordered that you are in need of alimony then you do qualify for an award of attorney’s fees.
Another very important piece of evidence that the judge will consider is your income. Naturally, those with lower income are not very financially stable which means they might have trouble paying for the fees of a lawyer. Of course, the judge will acknowledge this and at their discretion, they will order that the attorney fees are paid by the spouse.
In America, you often see one of the partners in a marriage staying at home. Usually, this is done to take care of the children or to take care of the home. Obviously, such an individual has to sacrifice their career to stay at home. This is another factor that will be acknowledged by the judge. If you are a stay-at-home wife or husband, you might not have to pay for your lawyer’s fees.
Of course, there are probably a lot of other reasons why a judge would make such a decision. However, some of that reasoning and decisions could be based on judicial discretion. In other words, there might not be any straightforward explanation on why the judge decide for an award of attorney’s fees.
The simple answer to this question is that both parties can pay for the total cost of the hired attorney. In the end, the judge decides which party is required to pay.
