When you’re a stay-at-home spouse, exiting an unhappy marriage involves a lot of logistics – not the least of which is figuring out how you can pay for everything, including attorney fees.
When your spouse controls all or most of the household’s money and you have no separate assets, what are you supposed to do? Fortunately, Florida law has options that can help.
Attorney fees may be addressed as part of temporary support
A divorce can take months (or longer) to resolve – and a stay-at-home spouse would be put at a huge disadvantage if they were unable to access any funds to pay for their legal counsel during that time. They would also likely struggle to meet their basic needs without some kind of income.
To help with this, the court can order pendete lite relief, or temporary alimony, while the divorce is pending. A temporary order may also address child support, household expenses and – of course – attorney fees.
In general, the court will only order temporary alimony once it is established that a dependent spouse needs assistance and the other can provide it. The court will usually review each party’s:
- Income and earning capacity
- Savings, investments and other available assets
- Access to marital funds
- Monthly expenses and financial obligations
- Responsibility for household and child-related costs
Being unemployed doesn’t necessarily establish need, nor does earning more necessarily establish the ability to pay. The court must look at the overall financial circumstances of the couple together.
The spouses’ conduct during the divorce process may also affect an attorney fee award. If one spouse unnecessarily prolongs the litigation, refuses to provide required information or files motions primarily to increase costs, the court may consider that behavior when deciding who should bear the resulting legal fees.
If you’re a stay-at-home spouse, don’t assume that being financially dependent means that you have no agency. You are not stuck in your marriage. You can obtain financial relief via the court that will help you move your divorce forward. Talk to your attorney about asking the court to order temporary alimony to cover your attorney fees and other expenses, and be ready with clear financial records to make your case.