Proposed Changes to Attorney Fee and Court Cost Rules in Family Law…

The Frame

What this does

If enacted, this bill would have changed the financial obligations of parties in family law disputes by making it easier for courts to award fees as sanctions for bad-faith behavior and creating a presumption of fee recovery for parties who successfully prove civil contempt.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Family law litigants

Parties in family law and paternity proceedings would have been subject to new rules regarding the recovery and payment of attorney fees and costs.

Attorneys

Attorneys would have gained the ability to have fee awards paid directly to them and to enforce those orders in their own names.

Nonprevailing obligors in Title IV-D cases

These individuals would have been specifically identified as the parties against whom fees and costs are assessed in child support enforcement cases.

What changed

Last recorded activity March 13, 2026.

What's next

Introduced.

Summary

This bill would have updated how Florida courts award attorney fees and costs in family law and paternity cases, including allowing fees to be paid directly to attorneys and creating new rules for bad-faith litigation. It would have also established a presumption that a party who wins a civil contempt motion is entitled to recover their legal fees from the other party.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Would this bill have required expert testimony to prove attorney fees?

No, the bill explicitly stated that applications for attorney fees, , or costs would not require corroborating expert testimony.

Could an attorney collect fees directly from the opposing party under this bill?

Yes, the bill would have authorized the court to order that fee awards be paid directly to the attorney, allowing the attorney to enforce the order in their own name.

What happens if a party acts in bad faith during litigation?

The court would have been authorized to award fees as a sanction against the bad-faith party or deny/reduce any fee award that party might otherwise receive.

Why It Matters

If enacted, this bill would have changed the financial obligations of parties in family law disputes by making it easier for courts to award fees as sanctions for bad-faith behavior and creating a presumption of fee recovery for parties who successfully prove civil contempt.

News Coverage

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Voting Record

Motion succeededlower2/4/2026openstates_bulkOfficial roll call ↗

Passage, Third Reading

Total

117

Yes

110

No

0

Present

0

Not Voting

7

Abstain

0

How they voted (117)

+ 93 more

Full roll-call analysis →

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift100% confidence

Direct Attorney Enforcement

The bill represents a shift toward allowing attorneys to act as independent parties for the purpose of collecting court-ordered fees.

Attorneys

Connected Entities

organizationFlorida Legislature Map →

organizationDepartment of Revenue Map →

Sources

Open source document

openstates.org

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance65
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy40
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

Proposed Changes to Attorney Fee and Court Cost Rules in Family Law Cases