Reasons Needed for Denial of Lawyer Fees

In a recent unreported Maryland Court of Special Appeals Case the trial court in a divorce case awarded no attorney’s fees to a wife after awarding her alimony. The appeals court held that this decision was erroneous. The appeals court made this determination because it claimed the proper analysis was not performed by the trial judge. This was because the husband had equity in the parties home that was to be sold, had significantly higher income, had a lack of living expenses, and his wife had considerable debt. As a result the appeals court determined that the trial court needed to conduct an analysis of the financial status and respective needs of the parties in order to justify its denial of attorney’s fees to appellant.