In In re Marriage of Malquist, 266 Mont. 447, 880 P.2d 1357, 1364 (Mont. 1994), the Supreme Court of Montana explained the importance of access to an attorney in family law cases, which implicate child support and custody issues: We live in a society where, next to health care, competent legal service is likely the most essential, yet most costly, professional service that most people from time to time require. That is certainly no more evident than in domestic relations cases wherein the court's decision will likely involve important property questions and will forever alter the personal relationships and obligations of the litigants to each other. More importantly, however, at issue in many such cases are the relationships of children to their parents and the fundamental rights of those children to food, clothing, shelter, education, medical care, support, and to a safe and reasonably stable home life. The multiplicity of laws and often technical court rules and procedures governing domestic relations cases combined with the emotionally charged nature of such proceedings, present a mine field to the litigant who is too poor to hire competent counsel. The court noted that the "principle of providing equal access of justice to all" warrants the award of attorney's fees to persons represented by legal services organizations or a pro bono attorney. Id. at 1364. Accordingly, the court held that an award of attorney's fees is authorized under the statute if "the requesting party shows necessity - i.e. the inability to pay for legal representation," as well as the reasonableness of the fees. Id. at 1365. "Whether a party incurs debt is irrelevant, and necessity is unrelated to the status of the attorney who delivers the legal services." Id.