Legal Question in Family Law in California
My ex-wife and I have some disagreements over some terms in our judgment from 2010 and we have been trying to resolve them without having to return to court to clarify. But we are going in circles.
My ex-wife�s lawyer is now stating that he will be requesting, from me, the attorney fees incurred in enforcing the judgment if we do go to court.
The following statement is directly from our judgment: �Each party shall bear his/her own attorney�s fees and costs herein incurred.�
Currently, I can�t really afford a lawyer, so I�m representing myself. He is my ex-wife�s lawyer, not mine, can he charge me for any of his attorney fees if we go to court?
2 Answers from Attorneys
He can threaten to have you pay her fees, but that does not mean any court would order you to pay her fees. Generally, the court can either order you to pay her fees as a sanction (meaning the court thought you did something wrong) or based upon you having a greater ability and the means to pay her attorney fees. From what you say, neither of these apply. Also, that statement in the Judgement was only referring to any fees as of the date that the judgement was filed, and not referring to anything incurred thereafter. In any case, good luck!
Mr. Schneider is correct. The terms you reference in your Judgment apply to attorneys fees incurred up to the time of the judgment. Your ex's attorney would have to ask the court to order and persuade the court to order you to pay any attorneys fees after that, and would have to show the fees were incurred because you did something wrong or you have a superior ability to pay.
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