Family Law: Fee Awards To Ex-Wife Under Section 271 And Minors’ Counsel Under Section 3153 Were Affirmed On Appeal

Ex-Husband Did Have Ability To Pay, With The Lower Court Structuring The Fee Recovery To Ameliorate Hardship.

            Acting Presiding Justice Bedsworth, on behalf of a 3-0 panel, authored Marriage of Lou and Ma, Case No. G061015 et al. (4^th Dist., Div. 3 Dec. 6, 2023) (unpublished).  Ex-husband in a dissolution case appealed an award of attorney’ fees to ex-wife of $63,489 (principally under Family Code section 271) and to minors’ counsel under Family Code section 3153 (which section allows for such an award considering the parties’ ability to pay).  However, the lower court structured the award so that wife’s fees should be satisfied through equalization adjustment for the value of the marital residence and so that minors’ counsel could be paid from liquidating stocks/bonds such that only $7,260 had to be paid in cash.  The 4/3 DCA panel affirmed.  The record showed ex-husband ran up the cost of the litigation, with the lower court finding that “everything including the kitchen sink was tossed into this litigation” by ex-husband.  With respect to ex-husband’s argument he did not have the ability to pay, the lower court’s structuring of how the fee orders were to be paid was reasonable, with ex-husband having plenty of disposable cash and bitcoin resources to satisfy the cash component of the award to minors’ counsel.