In the majority of cases legal expenses cannot be deducted against your income taxes. There are however a couples of situations in which you can deduct your legal expenses from your income tax.
The most significant case where legal costs incurred can be tax deductible is in the cast of legal fees incurred to obtain child support or spousal support. This includes fees incurred in regards to obtaining an order for child or spousal support , fees paid in order to enforce an existing order for child or spousal support or any fees paid in order to vary an existing order for support. You may also deduct any legal fees incurred to defend yourself from a court action in which the goal is to reduce your support that you are receiving.
The payor of support may never deduct legal fees paid from their income.
