LAW.coLAW.co

Michael J. BOGGESS, Petitioner and Appellant, v. Tina A. BOGGESS, Respondent and Appellee

Utah Court of Appeals2011-03-17No. No. 20100507-CA
250 P.3d 862011 UT App 84

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

DECISION

PER CURIAM:

1 Michael J. Boggess (Husband) appeals the trial courts order dividing a marital debt and awarding attorney fees to Tina A. Bog-gess (Wife). We affirm.

12 The trial courts division of debts is reviewed for abuse of discretion. See Connell v. Connell, 2010 UT App 139, ¶ 8, 233 P.3d 836. Similarly, an appellate court will review a trial courts decision regarding attorney fees in a divoree proceeding for an abuse of discretion. Id. 16 (internal quotation marks omitted).

13 It is undisputed that Husband agreed to sign documents that would permit the sale of the marital home and avoid foreclosure, but that he did not do so. The trial court found that his refusal was unreasonable and contributed to the foreclosure. Accordingly, because Husbands own actions permitted the foreclosure to proceed, the trial court determined that the deficiency was the responsibility of both parties Husband has shown no abuse of discretion in the division of the debt arising from the foreclosure of the marital home.

€4 Both the decision to award attorney fees and the amount of such fees are within the trial courts sound discretion. Id. 127 (internal quotation marks omitted). In awarding fees, the trial court must consider the receiving spouses financial need, the payor spouses ability to pay, and the reasonableness of the requested fees. See id. The trial court found that Wife was in need, that Husband had the ability to pay, and that the fee request was reasonable. The court considered the required factors. Contrary to Husbands assertions, the fees were not attached to specific hearings but were within the courts discretion to award as part of the divorcee proceedings. See Utah Code Ann. § 80-8-3(1) (Supp.2010). Husband has shown no abuse of discretion in the award of fees.

11 5 Affirmed.