Short answer. Yes. Rule 3, Section 21 of the Rules of Court allows any adverse party to contest the grant of indigent-litigant authority at any time before judgment is rendered by the trial court — so the challenge can come at any point while your case is still pending, not only at the start.
What the law says
Any adverse party may contest the grant of such authority at any time before judgment is rendered by the trial court.
Rule 3, Section 21 — Indigent party. Read the full provision →
What the law says
The amount of the docket and other lawful fees which the indigent was exempted from paying shall be a lien on any judgment rendered in the case favorable to the indigent, unless the court otherwise provides.
Rule 3, Section 21 — Indigent party. Read the full provision →
The challenge window: any time before judgment
Rule 3, Section 21 provides that any adverse party may contest the grant of such authority at any time before judgment is rendered by the trial court. This means the other side is not limited to objecting when you first apply for indigent status — they can raise the challenge at any point in the proceedings, as long as the trial court has not yet rendered judgment.
What happens if the challenge succeeds
If the court determines, after hearing, that you are in fact a person with sufficient income or property, the proper docket and other lawful fees are assessed and collected by the clerk of court. If payment is not made within the time the court fixes, execution issues for the payment, without prejudice to whatever other sanctions the court may impose. A successful challenge does not simply erase your case — it converts your exemption into a fee obligation to be collected.
How indigent status was granted in the first place
Indigent status is granted only after an ex parte application and hearing at which the court is satisfied that the party has no money or property sufficient and available for food, shelter, and basic necessities for himself and his family. That authority exempts the indigent from docket and other lawful fees and from paying for transcripts the court orders furnished. The adverse party's later challenge is aimed at reopening that same factual determination, not at a separate procedural defect.
The lien that exists even without a successful challenge
Even if the adverse party never challenges your indigent status, the fees you were exempted from paying remain a lien on any judgment rendered in your favor in the case, unless the court provides otherwise. The exemption is not necessarily a permanent waiver of those fees — it can still be recovered from a favorable judgment even without the adverse party ever contesting your indigent status at all.