Difference between revisions of "Family Law Trials in Supreme Court"

=== Taxable costs and disbursements ===

There is a distinction between costs and disbursements. Costs are intended as a partial payment of the legal fees of the successful party.  Disbursements are the out-of-pocket expenses such as court filing fees, witness fees, traveling and subsistence expenses, experts' fees, fees for medical/legal reports, and the like.

Both are dealt with in Rule 16-1 of the Supreme Court Family Rules.  The usual rule is that the successful party will be awarded their taxable costs and disbursements on a ''party and party'' basis, but there are many exceptions.   

An award of costs normally does not amount to more than approximately 30% of a party's actual legal fees.   Generally, most disbursements are recoverable, although there are some exceptions. A successful party can expect to recover about 80–90% of actual out-of-pocket expenses.

For more information about costs, see the Legal Services Society of British Columbia’s fact sheet on [https://familylaw.lss.bc.ca/bc-legal-system/if-you-have-go-court/costs-and-expenses Costs and Expenses].