Opinion ID: 1653066
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: trial court attorney fees

Text: Margaret filed an affidavit itemizing attorney fees and expenses over an eight-month period, and the trial court awarded her $1,300.40 in attorney fees. William urges that Margaret's signing of the agreement in Germany with no intent to abide by it should be grounds for denial of attorney fees. However, the trial court found that William was guilty of overreaching in the way he presented the agreement to Margaret for her signature in the first place. His duress neutralized her claimed fraud, if any. SDCL 15-17-7 gives the trial court discretion to award attorney fees in divorce cases, and we will not disturb its decision unless it has abused its discretion. Stach v. Stach, 369 N.W.2d 132, 136-137 (S.D.1985). The factors the court may consider in deciding whether to award attorney fees include the relative financial condition of the parties, the relative fault of the parties in prolonging litigation, the complexity of the issues, whether briefs were required and whether the case was appealed to the Supreme Court. Ryken v. Ryken, 440 N.W.2d at 305-306; Baltzer v. Baltzer, 422 N.W.2d at 589. Under these facts, the award of trial attorney fees to Margaret was not an abuse of discretion.