Legal Question in Family Law in California

If there was a previous order for you to pay attorney fees, you still have to pay those fees even if that attorney is no longer on the case. The lack of a substitution of attorney form probably will not prevent the enforcement of past attorneys fees award or even making current or future attorneys fees awards.

If the judge previously stated they would not award more attorney fees, that could be relevant to a new request, assuming no material facts have changed since then.

Pendente fee orders in family court can be a nightmare. I know, I have litigated them on appeal. The trial judge is given wide discretion to fashion orders. In practice, they can be bizarre.

The first question that I would have - and which I think most family law attorneys would have - is what is the time period that the attorney is asking for the fees for? In other words, is this attorney trying to get the court to rehear something that was denied before? Or are these new fees that were allegedly incurred doing nothing after the substitution of attorney?

That is in an important focus, as it should determine the research in preparing your opposition to the request.