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Request to Have Spouse Pay Attorney Fees in California Divorce

If your ex has a lot more money than you do or if he or she has access to your community money, you may be entitled to an award of lawyer's fees and costs payable by your ex.

Why? The law wants to ensure that parties in a divorce have equal access to legal assistance during a divorce. If there are funds available for your fees – either from a specific source or from your ex's income, the judge may order your ex to contribute to your fees.

There are specific requirements that must be met for this order to be made by the court and you must file various forms in support of your motion. The PDF downloads below will guide you through the preparation of the Request for Order for Lawyer's Fees and Costs, the information you should include, and the documentation about your income and assets that you must provide.

How to Complete a Request to Have your Spouse Pay for Your Attorney Fees

Form templates:

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Founder, CEO & Certified Family Law Specialist
Mediation, Divorce Strategy, Divorce Insights, Legal Insights
After over a decade of experience as a Certified Family Law Specialist, Mediator and law firm owner, Erin was fed up with the inefficient and adversarial “divorce corp” industry and set out to transform how consumers navigate divorce - starting with the legal process. By automating the court bureaucracy and integrating expert support along the way, Hello Divorce levels the playing field between spouses so that they can sort things out fairly and avoid missteps. Her access to justice work has been recognized by the legal industry and beyond, with awards and recognition from the likes of Women Founders Network, TechCrunch, Vice, Forbes, American Bar Association and the Pro Bono Leadership award from Congresswoman Barbara Lee. Erin lives in California with her husband and two children, and is famously terrible at board games.