Order for costs

An order for costs is a court order requiring a party to pay the other party’s costs. The order can be to pay all the other party’s costs, or a proportion of them, or it can be to make a contribution of a fixed amount.

In divorce cases, there are usually two separate lots of costs: the costs of the divorce itself (the ‘main suit’) and the costs of dealing with financial matters (‘ancillary relief’).

If a divorce petition is based on adultery or unreasonable behaviour, the petitioner may ask the court to order the respondent to pay his/her costs of the main suit. Often there is a compromise, by which the respondent makes an agreed contribution to the petitioner’s costs.

Costs orders in ancillary relief cases are not made very often, but they can be, and it is important  to keep an eye on the possibility of a costs order. It is risky, for example, to pursue an aspect of a case that has very little chance of succeeding. If a party insists on pursuing such an aspect and fails to persuade the judge that it was reasonable to do so, the judge may make an order for costs against that party.

More on costs in future posts.