Need-Based Attorney Fees

Need-Based Attorney Fees

Need-Based attorney fees are usually only awarded in cases where one party makes significantly more than the other party. (Although a disparity in income is not a factor in the three-part test for need-based attorney fees).

There are three factors the Court’s consider when looking at need-based fees (Minn. Stat. § 518.14, subd. 1; see also Geske v. Marcolina, 624 N.W.2d 813, 816, 817 n.2 (Minn. App. 2001) (noting that the attorney-fee statute—Minn. Stat. § 518.14, subd. 1—was amended in 1990 to its three-part statutory test and noting that cases decided under the pre-1990 version of the statute basing fee awards on a disparity in income appear to have been superseded by statute to extent they are inconsistent with the amended version of the statute):

1. the fees are necessary
2. the payor has the means to pay the fees
3. the payee does not have the means to pay the fees.

Need- Based Fees in Maintenance and support modification proceedings

In maintenance- and support-modification proceedings, a district court shall award attorney fees, costs, and disbursements in an amount necessary to enable a party to carry on or contest the proceeding, provided it finds: (1) that the fees are necessary for the good faith assertion of the party’s rights in the proceeding and will not contribute unnecessarily to the length and expense of the proceeding; (2) that the party from whom fees, costs, and disbursements are sought has the means to pay them; and (3) that the party to whom fees, costs, and disbursements are awarded does not have the means to pay them. Minn. Stat. § 518.14, subd. 1 (2024).

Is the spousal support one party receives considered by the Court when determining whether they have an additional need for need-based fees?

“The purpose of a maintenance award is to allow the recipient and the obligor to have a standard of living that approximates the marital standard of living, as closely as is equitable under the circumstances.” Schmidt v. Schmidt, 964 N.W.2d 221, 226 (Minn. App. 2021) (quotation omitted). An award of maintenance allows the spouse receiving maintenance to meet their existing financial needs. See McConnell v. McConnell, 710 N.W.2d 583, 585 (Minn. App. 2006) (“The basic consideration [in determining a maintenance award] is the financial need of the spouse receiving the maintenance . . . .”). A party’s spousal maintenance award allows them to meet her existing financial needs when considering their income and monthly budget. See Minn. Stat. § 518.552, subds. 1, 2 (2024) (explaining the bases for awarding maintenance and determining the amount of maintenance). The district court may choose not to consider a party’s receipt of maintenance in determining their ability to pay additional litigation expenses, as those additional litigation expenses likely weren’t part of their projected monthly budget when determining their award of spousal maintenance.