Expense of Litigation in a Florida Divorce

In presiding over a contested divorce case involving property, children, and one spouse earning more than the other, Florida courts tend to use the acronym P.E.A.C.E. to organize and address each legal topic in their Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. P.E.A.C.E. stands for the following:

1. Parenting Plan
2. Equitable Distribution
3. Alimony
4. Child Support
5. Expense of Litigation of the lesser-earning spouse

Under Fla. Stat. Section 61.16(1), the Court has the authority to award a spouse attorney’s fees, suit money, and costs after considering the financial resources of both parties. Section 61.16(1) also applies to enforcement and modification proceedings and appeals. In the context of a divorce proceeding, the court will look at the size of the marital estate and how much the lesser-earning spouse will receive in assets, including the amount of alimony, if any.

For example, if the lesser earning spouse receives the equivalent of $20,000,000 in equitable distribution and incurred $200,000 in legal and professional expenses and fees, then a court may be less inclined to award that spouse his or her attorney’s fees, suit money, and costs because the court may determine that $200,000 in litigation expenses would not amount to an “inequitable dimunition” of the $20,000,000 in equitable distribution the spouse received under the circumstances.