Attorney Fee Awards
Who pays the attorney fees in a divorce?

There’s an old and unfortunate saying about divorce and family law cases that the only ones who win are the lawyers. An issue that oftentimes upsets people when they receive divorce papers is a paragraph saying something to the effect of: “If the other party opposes or objects to these requests, the court should order him to pay my attorney fees.” Understandably, people are oftentimes incensed and terrified of the possibility that, in addition to paying for their own attorney, they may have to pay for the other side’s attorney as well.

However, like a child asking for a candy bar right before bedtime, just because you ask for it doesn’t mean that you’re going to get it. In Oregon, the law does permit a court to order one side to pay the other side’s attorney fees in a divorce or family law case. However, generally speaking, in divorce and family law cases in Oregon, such awards are the exception and not really the norm. One of the basic concepts behind awarding attorney fees in any kind of legal proceeding is that the party to a dispute who was wrong or the “loser” should be forced to reimburse the “winner” for the cost of having to pursue their case. In theory, this should prevent people from bringing frivolous lawsuits or not paying for debts or damages that they have caused to another.

In a divorce or family law case, there isn’t really supposed to be a “winner” or a “loser”. The law still wants to provide incentive to parties to try to resolve disputes and act reasonably to try to limit conflict and that’s where requests for attorney fees usually come into play. The laws that control attorney fee awards in Oregon order courts to consider whether the parties acted in good faith, took reasonable positions, and worked diligently to resolve their dispute. As such, courts are going to be more inclined to order parties to pay the other sides attorney fees if they were needlessly combative or unreasonable in their behavior. In other words, this is just another example of why it pays to be prepared and practical.

If you are facing a divorce or family law dispute, knowing your rights and the possible outcomes for your situation can help you be sure that you are making decisions and taking actions that will limit the possibility that you may have to pay the other side’s attorney fees. Working with an experienced attorney can help you avoid these pitfalls so that your costs will hopefully just be limited to work that is done for you.