ATTORNEYS FEES ARE JUST ABOUT IMPOSSIBLE TO OBTAIN IN MISSISSIPPI DIVORCE ACTIONS

Many clients ask if they are going to be able to get their attorneys fees back. Clients who are victims of abuse or adultery are particularly interested in reclaiming the fees they have to spend as a result of their perception that the entire divorce controversy is the result of their spouse’s fault. Unfortunately for these clients, the answer is that they are not going to recover any attorneys fees if they have the ability to pay them, or if they receive assets in the divorce which will allow them to pay them. This law was unmistakably driven home by the Court of Appeals in the recent decision of Evans v. Evans, No. 2009–CP–00953–COA (Decided April 26, 2011) where they reversed a chancellor’s award of a mere $2,300 in attorneys fees to a woman who was forced to file a Motion for Contempt for failure to pay child support. The Court reiterated the rule that attorneys fees are not recoverable unless there is a clear showing of an inability to pay them.