Determination of “Need” When Assessing Alimony and Attorney Fees

An often-recited trope among family law attorneys is that entitlement to attorney’s fees is based on the same “need and ability” analysis as alimony. The “need and ability” analysis requires the requesting party to prove their financial need, and if successful, then the other party’s ability to pay. It would seem that if a party can prove need for alimony, they should also be able to prove need for attorney’s fees. But this is not necessarily true.

The Fifth District recently held that when it comes to attorney’s fees, the determination of need is made after considering the effect of equitable distribution and any alimony awards. In Ramakrishnan (April 25, 2025), the appeals court reversed the trial court’s order that required the husband to pay $20,000 of the wife’s attorney’s fees. Under Florida law, such an award depends on one spouse’s need and the other’s ability to pay. However, the trial court’s own findings showed that the parties received an equal distribution of marital assets and had comparable incomes after adjusting net income to account for the alimony that had been awarded by the trial court. Because the parties had nearly equal financial resources, the fee award was not justified.

Michael DeVoe is a divorce attorney in Orlando, Florida practicing contested divorce, uncontested divorce, timesharing, visitation, custody, paternity, child support, injunctions, and other family law cases.