| > | | | | the financial abilities of the parties prior to |
| Attorney's Fees While Enforcing Court Orders. | | | | awarding attorney fees in such actions, the trial |
| A party who has been forced to resort to the | | | | court was not required to consider the financial |
| judicial process to secure compliance with the | | | | ability of petitioner to pay her attorney fees. |
| terms of an order or judgment is entitled to her | | | | A party who must seek court enforcement of |
| reasonable attorney fees even absent a showing | | | | the terms of a judgment of dissolution is entitled |
| of inability to pay. | | | | to reasonable attorney fees, even absent a |
| The trial court has no discretion as to whether to | | | | showing of that party's inability to pay the fees |
| award reasonable attorney fees and costs | | | | and the other party's ability to pay, where the |
| incurred in enforcement of its orders, for if the | | | | failure to comply with the terms of the judgment |
| failure to pay was without cause of justification, | | | | is without cause or justification. Subsection (b) is a |
| the award of reasonable attorney fees is | | | | mandatory provision by which the trial court |
| mandatory. | | | | must, in a child support enforcement proceeding, |
| Where defendant's net income was higher than | | | | order the noncustodial parent to pay the custodial |
| plaintiff's, where plaintiff had the custodial expense | | | | parent's costs and reasonable attorney fees. |
| of her son, and where defendant's actions | | | | Where an ex-husband received a cash |
| required plaintiff to be involved in substantial | | | | disbursement of his pension plan, he should have |
| judicial processes to enforce her rights, the trial | | | | honored his divorce settlement agreement and |
| court's ruling denying plaintiff's request for fees | | | | divorce decree and paid to his deceased ex-wife |
| and costs was against the manifest weight of the | | | | estate the portion due her under the agreement; |
| evidence. | | | | since the estate was obligated to bring suit and |
| An order for attorney fees under subsection (b) | | | | appeal to enforce the decree and agreement, the |
| of this section does not permit the balancing tests | | | | estate of the deceased was entitled to recover |
| normally applicable to the question of attorney | | | | attorney fees. |
| fees; instead, under this subsection, the court is | | | | While respondent may not have willfully and |
| simply to decide what the costs and reasonable | | | | contemptuously miscalculated when he multiplied |
| attorney fees of the prevailing party are and to | | | | $50 per week by four weeks to arrive at his |
| order them paid by the party found to have | | | | payment of $200 per month, the respondent |
| failed to comply with the order or judgment | | | | failed to pay without cause or justification and |
| without cause or justification. The legislature in | | | | therefore was obligated to reimburse petitioner |
| tended this result to serve as a sanction against | | | | for reasonable attorney fees. |
| parties in marital cases who willfully disobey court | | | | Where the trial court explicitly found that |
| orders. Where husband was found in contempt | | | | husband's failure to pay child support was without |
| for failing to comply with a dissolution order, the | | | | cause or justification, no finding of wife's financial |
| trial court correctly found that wife was entitled | | | | circumstances was necessary by the court in |
| to an award for attorney fees incurred in | | | | order to award her attorney fees pursuant to |
| connection with the enforcement of that order, | | | | this section. A party who must use judicial |
| regardless of husband's ability to pay. Given that | | | | process to enforce rights under and to secure |
| the instant action was brought to enforce the | | | | compliance with, the terms of a divorce judgment |
| agreement which was made a part of the order | | | | is entitled to reasonable attorney fees, even |
| of dissolution and that subsection (b) of this | | | | absent a showing of the party's inability to pay. |
| section does not require the court to determine | | | | |