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518.14 COSTS AND DISBURSEMENTS; ATTORNEY FEES; COLLECTION COSTS.
    Subdivision 1. General. Except as provided in section 518A.735, in a proceeding under this
chapter or chapter 518A, the court shall award attorney fees, costs, and disbursements in an
amount necessary to enable a party to carry on or contest the proceeding, provided it finds:
(1) that the fees are necessary for the good-faith assertion of the party's rights in the
proceeding and will not contribute unnecessarily to the length and expense of the proceeding;
(2) that the party from whom fees, costs, and disbursements are sought has the means to
pay them; and
(3) that the party to whom fees, costs, and disbursements are awarded does not have the
means to pay them.
Nothing in this section or section 518A.735 precludes the court from awarding, in its discretion,
additional fees, costs, and disbursements against a party who unreasonably contributes to the
length or expense of the proceeding. Fees, costs, and disbursements provided for in this section
and section 518A.735 may be awarded at any point in the proceeding, including a modification
proceeding under sections 518.18 and 518A.39. The court may adjudge costs and disbursements
against either party. The court may authorize the collection of money awarded by execution, or
out of property sequestered, or in any other manner within the power of the court. An award of
attorney's fees made by the court during the pendency of the proceeding or in the final judgment
survives the proceeding and if not paid by the party directed to pay the same may be enforced as
above provided or by a separate civil action brought in the attorney's own name. If the proceeding
is dismissed or abandoned prior to determination and award of attorney's fees, the court may
nevertheless award attorney's fees upon the attorney's motion. The award shall also survive the
proceeding and may be enforced in the same manner as last above provided.
    Subd. 2.[Renumbered 518A.735]
History: (8593) RL s 3582; 1955 c 687 s 1; 1974 c 107 s 11; 1978 c 772 s 30; 1986 c 444;
1990 c 574 s 10; 1993 c 340 s 20; 1994 c 630 art 11 s 5; 1997 c 187 art 2 s 10; 2005 c 164 s
29; 1Sp2005 c 7 s 28

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes