Booth v. Booth
Booth v. Booth
Opinion of the Court
AFFIRMED.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting in part.
I concur in the affirmance, with the exception of the requirement that the husband pay the wife’s attorney’s fees assessed at $30,000.
In round figures after dissolution, the wife ended up with over $500,000, vis-a-vis the husband’s net worth of just over $600,-000. I am aware that the husband’s income is at least $150,000 per year, whereas the wife, largely unemployed during the marriage, must now go out into the marketplace at whatever modest salary a degree in guidance counselling will produce.
There is no bright-line test controlling who must pay the attorney’s fees incurred during divorce proceedings. It is true that the husband, more often than not, is required to do so when he is in a superior financial position. However, that superiority here is largely in earned income rather than assets.
The wife, in this case, is more than able to pay her own way. As I see it, if she were required to do so, there would be no
. She also has a real estate license, but no track record in this field.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.