California Form FL-158, the Supporting Declaration for Attorney’s Fees and Costs Attachment, is the document you fill out to give the court the facts behind a request that one party in a family law case help pay the other party’s legal bills. You attach it to Form FL-319 if you are asking for fees, or to Form FL-320 if you are opposing a request. It is signed under penalty of perjury, so the figures and statements you put on it must match your actual records.1California Courts | Self Help Guide. Supporting Declaration for Attorney’s Fees and Costs Attachment (FL-158)
When You Use FL-158
FL-158 never travels alone. It is an attachment inside a larger motion packet, and which form it clips onto depends on your role:
- If you are requesting fees, FL-158 attaches to Form FL-319 (Request for Attorney’s Fees and Costs Attachment), which itself attaches to Form FL-300 (Request for Order).2California Courts | Self Help Guide. Request for Attorney’s Fees and Costs Attachment (FL-319)
- If you are opposing someone else’s fee request, FL-158 attaches to Form FL-320 (Responsive Declaration).
The form is used in dissolutions, legal separations, parentage cases, and related family law proceedings where California law allows the court to order a fee contribution so both sides can afford adequate representation.
What You Fill In on FL-158
The form is shorter than most people expect. It does not ask for an itemized billing breakdown; that detail belongs in a separate declaration or billing summary you attach. On FL-158 itself, you complete the following:3Judicial Council of California. California Form FL-158 – Supporting Declaration for Attorney’s Fees and Costs Attachment
- Your position in the case (petitioner, respondent, or other party) and whether you are filing in support of or in opposition to the fee request.
- Whether the other party can pay your fees, their own fees, or both, and the sources of money available to them: community property, separate property, or income.
- A narrative section describing the facts you want the court to consider, including why the request should be granted, partially granted, or denied. This is where the substance of your argument lives.
- Information about any existing child support order: the monthly amount, how long it has been in place, and whether payments have been made.
- The same information for any spousal, partner, or family support order.
If you are or were married to the other party, or in a domestic partnership, FL-158 directs you to also complete and attach Form FL-157, the Spousal or Partner Support Declaration Attachment, which walks through the factors the court weighs when evaluating support and fee awards.
Writing the Narrative
The facts section is where fee motions are usually won or lost. Describe in concrete terms what makes your case demanding: contested property division, tracing of separate property, forensic accounting for a business, depositions of expert witnesses, a contested move-away request. A vague claim that the matter is “complex” carries little weight; specifics do.
What You Have to File Alongside FL-158
California Rule of Court 5.427 requires both parties to put additional information in front of the court when attorney fees are at issue. Some of it goes on FL-158 or its narrative; the rest comes in through other required forms and attachments.4Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 5.427 Attorney’s Fees and Costs
Form FL-150 (Income and Expense Declaration)
Both parties must file a current FL-150. “Current” means completed within the past three months, with no change in circumstances since completion. The sections on savings, money market accounts, and attorney fees owed must be fully completed, not left blank.4Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 5.427 Attorney’s Fees and Costs
Attach copies of your pay stubs for the last two months, with Social Security numbers blacked out.5Judicial Council of California. Income and Expense Declaration Bring your most recent federal tax return to the hearing; the court may ask to see it, and not having it can force a continuance. If you are self-employed, attach your last two years of returns, including Schedule C. The income figures on your FL-150, pay stubs, and tax documents should line up exactly. Discrepancies give the other side an easy credibility target.
Attorney Information Required by Rule 5.427
If a lawyer represents you, prepare a separate attorney declaration covering the hourly billing rate, the attorney’s experience in this type of work, fees already incurred, fees anticipated going forward, and the nature and complexity of the litigation.4Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 5.427 Attorney’s Fees and Costs Attach a billing summary organized by task rather than a raw printout of dozens of pages of time entries.
Form FW-001 if You Cannot Afford the Filing Fee
If filing fees are out of reach, you may qualify for a waiver using Form FW-001. Eligibility is based on receiving public benefits, having a low income, or being unable to cover basic needs after paying court fees. File the waiver request at the same time as your Request for Order to avoid delays.6California Courts | Self Help Guide. Request to Waive Court Fees FW-001
Filing the Packet
File the complete packet with the clerk of the Superior Court where your case is pending. Many California counties now require attorneys to file electronically. Self-represented parties are typically exempt from the mandate and can still file at the courthouse window.7Superior Court of California. eFiling for Family Check your county court’s website for its approved electronic filing providers, which vary by location.
The clerk will file your papers and assign a hearing date. That date drives every deadline that follows.
Serving the Other Party
Once the hearing is on calendar, the entire packet has to be served on the other party or their attorney. You cannot do the delivery yourself; it has to be handled by an adult who is not a party to the case. Deadlines run from the hearing date and depend on how service is made:8California Courts | Self Help Guide. Serve Your Request for Order by Mail
- Personal service: at least 16 court days before the hearing.
- Mail within California: at least 16 court days plus 5 calendar days before the hearing.
- Mail to another U.S. state: at least 16 court days plus 10 calendar days.
- Mail outside the United States: at least 16 court days plus 20 calendar days.
After delivery, the server completes a proof of service: Form FL-330 for personal service or Form FL-335 for service by mail.9Judicial Council of California. FL-300-INFO Information Sheet for Request for Order (Family Law) File the completed proof with the court before the hearing. Skipping this step can get your hearing taken off calendar.
If You Are the Responding Party
The other side has until at least nine court days before the hearing to file and serve any opposing papers. That default can be shortened by court order. If you are responding to a fee request rather than making one, your FL-158 attaches to Form FL-320 (Responsive Declaration), you check the “in opposition to” box in the position section, and you explain in the facts section why the request should be denied or reduced.
You still have to file your own current FL-150. Rule 5.427 applies to both parties whenever attorney fees are at issue, and a missing income and expense declaration is one of the fastest ways to lose a fee motion because the court can draw negative inferences from the gap.4Judicial Branch of California. California Rules of Court – Rule 5.427 Attorney’s Fees and Costs
A Note on Sanctions Fees
FL-158 supports a need-based fee request under Family Code Sections 2030 and 2032, where the question is whether one party can afford to pay for both sides. If you are instead asking the court to award fees as a sanction for the other party’s conduct under Family Code Section 271, that is a separate framework with its own requirements and does not depend on a financial disparity.10California Legislative Information. California Family Code Section 271 If you are pursuing both, keep the arguments distinct in your papers rather than blending them.