Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Costs definition

What does Costs mean? In litigation, costs are the legal fees, disbursements, court fees and VAT incurred in bringing, defending or appealing a claim, and the sums a court or tribunal may order one party to pay another for those liabilities. The concept is governed by procedural rules and case law rather than a single statutory definition: England and Wales (CPR 44–47), Northern Ireland (RCJ Ord 62), Scotland (where the equivalent term is expenses), and Ireland (Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 and the Legal Costs Adjudicators). The general approach is broadly consistent, subject to local terminology and procedure. Typical features include the discretionary rule...

CPR 1998 Costs in Family-Related Cases (England and Wales): TOLATA and 1975 Act Claims, Financial Remedies Exceptions, Fixed Costs, Budgeting, and Assessment

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note explains the framework governing Costs under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), SI 1998/3132, and when those provisions apply to proceedings handled by family lawyers. It also addresses the factors the court considers when determining costs, the kinds of costs orders that can be made, fixed costs and costs budgeting.

There are several circumstances in which the CPR costs provisions will apply to proceedings undertaken by family lawyers, rather than the costs provisions of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955. These include claims under the Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 (TOLATA 1996), the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 (I(PFD)A 1975) and, by incorporation, some aspects of financial remedy proceedings. See also Practice Note: Costs in family proceedings, in particular the section on Application of the CPR. It is therefore important for family practitioners to be aware of the general costs rules contained within the CPR.

General principles of costs

Section 51(1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 (SCA 1981) provides that the costs of and incidental to all proceedings in...

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Chris Bryden

4 King’s Bench Walk

Chris was called to the Bar in 2003 and since that time has built a busy practice across a range of areas, with an emphasis on Chancery practice. He enjoys a well-deserved reputation for his knowledge and expertise in each area. He appears regularly in the County Court, Family Court and the High Court as well as various specialist Tribunals, and has been involved in cases up to and including the Supreme Court. He regularly is instructed at Appellate level. He has extensive and wide-ranging experience particularly in the areas of wills, probate and inheritance disputes; property including adverse possession, boundary disputes and issues arising out of trusts of land; company and commercial work and financial remedies. Chris is head of the Family Group and head of the Property Team at 4KBW.Chris is the author of numerous articles in...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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