Hearing costs and wasted costs — who pays when hearings go wrong

REVIEWED BY: Sean McNamara on 2026-08-30

When a hearing is adjourned because someone didn't file their statement — or when a case runs long because of one party's conduct — the question of who pays comes up. Family costs rules differ from civil litigation, and children cases differ from financial cases. This guide explains the rules. It is general information, not legal advice.

The baseline rule in children cases

In children proceedings (private law and public law), the normal rule is no order as to costs — each side bears its own legal costs regardless of who wins
This reflects the approach that children cases are not about winning and losing: the welfare of the child governs, and costs orders between parents are discouraged
The rule is a rebuttable presumption: costs can be ordered where a party's conduct takes the case out of the norm

When costs CAN be ordered in children cases

A party has behaved unreasonably — gross exaggeration, fabricating evidence, ignoring orders, causing hearings to be vacated
Litigation misconduct: lying in a statement, deliberately missing deadlines, withholding disclosure
An application that was hopeless from the start and pursued stubbornly
Where a party's conduct forced the other side to incur costs unnecessarily (repeated applications to re-litigate settled points)

Financial remedy cases — costs are on the menu

In financial remedy proceedings, the family court can make costs orders, and they're made on a general "clean sheet" assessment: the court looks at the conduct of both parties, the offers made, and the outcome, and can order one side to contribute to the other's costs
Refusing a sensible open offer and then doing worse at trial is the classic costs trap — mark offers "without prejudice save as to costs" (see our guide)
Costs are also available for specific defaults: late Form E, missing the FDR without excuse, causing adjournments
Legal representatives' wasted costs can be ordered against solicitors personally in cases of improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission

Wasted costs of hearings

When a hearing can't go ahead or is wasted:

Adjournment because a party wasn't ready: the judge can order that party to pay the other side's costs of the wasted hearing (court fees aside, often counsel/travel costs)
Late settlement: costs consequences follow in financial cases from the position each party took
Court fees themselves: generally not recoverable between parties in family cases

Practical protection for litigants in person

1. Diary every deadline — deadline compliance is the cheapest costs insurance 2. Apply for extensions before expiry, not after failure 3. Make and keep WP-sat-c offers in financial cases — your offer history is your costs armour 4. Keep every receipt — LiPs can claim reasonable expenses (travel, photocopying, sometimes modest preparation costs) in a costs order; a litigant's own time is not usually compensable, but documented out-of-pocket costs can be 5. Don't escalate correspondence — abusive letters have found their way into costs arguments 6. If you win on conduct, ask: at the end of the hearing, say you seek costs and on what basis; costs applications need to be made (and ideally flagged in advance with a statement of the costs claimed)

Paying costs if they're ordered against you

Assess the demand: it must be particularised (what, when, why reasonable)
LiPs facing costs orders can seek detailed assessment where the amount is disputed (a court checks the reasonableness of the sum)
Help with Fees does not cover paying costs awards to the other side — only court fees
Payment plans can be negotiated; non-payment invites enforcement

A note on the "£X,000 threat letter"

Solicitors' letters threatening five-figure costs against an unrepresented parent are common and usually unenforceable as written — costs orders require a judge, the children-cases presumption blocks most of them, and family legal aid recipients are generally protected from adverse costs. Don't settle substantive claims purely out of costs fear; get advice on any costs threat.

Official links

YourFamilyCase.co.uk is an independent information directory — we are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to HMCTS or gov.uk. This page is general information and is not legal advice.

Content verified against the official HMCTS court directory, gov.uk forms and fees pages, and the professional body registers (SRA, FMC, Bar Council). Last reviewed September 2026.