Legal Question in Family Law in Washington

Re: Attorney fees

yes, you are liable for attorney's fees. If your opposing party does not pay them, they are in contempt of court and you can ask the judge to force them to pay. They may declare bankruptcy and discharge the judgment.

Re: Attorney fees

I clearly don't know the terms of your agreement with your attorney. I would say that first you should look to your agreement with your attorney. Generally the way an award of attorney's fees is looked upon is as a reimbursement of fees you already owed to your attorney. Unless the agreement that you had with your attorney was that the attorney's fees would come from what could be obtained in an attorney's fees and costs award, I would expect you are still liable for fees owed to your attorney.

The attorney's fee award is almost certainly dischargeable in bankruptcy.