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In re Marriage of Robert Mehl9/25/1998
s not end here. Anticipating our decision, Mother makes an alternative claim that she has demonstrated extreme hardship. Recognizing that "extreme hardship" is an imprecise standard, we observe that, unlike the parent in Beeson, Mother introduced evidence of an absence of funds and a lack of ability to obtain funds. The record does not support Father's contention that Mother had thousands of dollars in untaxed annual income from settlement of a sexual harassment lawsuit and from his child support payments. At the time of the final hearing, Mother no longer received proceeds from settlement of her lawsuit. Further, child support payments "shall be used solely for the benefit of the child entitled to receive the payments." Ind. Code ยง 31-1-11.5- 14(b) (1993).
Whether extreme hardship exists is a question of fact to be resolved by the trial court. Here, the trial court awarded fees utilizing an inappropriate test. Although there is evidence of Mother's lack of assets and income available for payment of attorney's fees, we decline to decide the question presented as a matter of law. Thus, we remand this case to the trial court with instructions to determine whether Mother is entitled to attorney's fees under the applicable statute.
Remanded with instructions.
SHARPNACK, C.J., and DARDEN, J., concur.
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