Filing or Opposing a Need-Based Attorney Fee Request

Learn about the cost of divorce and need-based attorney fee requests

Need-based attorney fee requests are an often-misunderstood area of California divorce law. When a spouse may seek a need-based request, how a spouse must seek need-based fees and under what circumstances will a court grant or deny a need-based fee request are all critical aspects of most contested California divorces.

Too often, spouses who need attorney's fees do not understand the rights the California Family Code provides to them. Nearly as often, spouses who have to defend against need-based requests do not appreciate the powerful arguments the law gives them.

We wrote these articles on need-based requests for both the spouse who brings the request and the spouse who intends to oppose it. If you expect your divorce will involve the issue of attorney's fees, you owe it to yourself to read these articles.

Our first article takes you through a question nearly every husband and wife asks before the divorce - how much will it cost?

We hope you enjoy our pages on need based attorney fee requests and we welcome your feedback on anything you read within them. You may access them by navigating to the attorney’s fees link that you will find at the top of our website or simply click on the links below.