It is hereby ordered that the order so appealed from be and the same hereby is unanimously modified on the law by increasing the award of attorney fees, costs and disbursements to $7,500 and as modified the order is affirmed without costs.
Memorandum: We agree with defendant that Supreme Court abused its discretion in ordering plaintiff to contribute the sum of only $3,000 toward the payment of his attorney fees, costs and disbursements in this divorce action ( see generally Domestic Relations Law § 237 [a]; Maher v. Maher, 196 AD2d 530, 532). The record establishes that there is a substantial disparity in the income of the parties ( see Maher, 196 AD2d at 532), and the fact that the distribution of the marital property resulted in a substantial award to defendant does not preclude the award of attorney fees herein ( see Hackett v. Hackett, 147 AD2d 611, 613). We therefore modify the order by increasing the award of attorney fees, costs and disbursements to $7,500.