H. Staats

This decision addresses the issue of costs following the Applicant's successful motion for child and spousal support for 2019 and 2020.

The Applicant sought $11,256.21 in costs, while the Respondent proposed $3,500.00, arguing partial success on the underlying motion.

Applying Rule 24 of the Family Law Rules, the court found the Applicant presumptively entitled to costs as the successful party.

Considering factors such as the importance and complexity of the issues, the parties' behaviour, and the reasonableness and proportionality of the legal fees, the court awarded the Applicant fixed costs of $8,208.00, inclusive of HST and disbursements, payable within 30 days.

The applicant sought child and spousal support for 2019 and 2020.

The key issues were determining the respondent's income, specifically whether corporate amortization expenses and alleged undeclared cash income should be added back, and whether wages paid to the applicant by the respondent's company should be considered spousal support.

The court found that 50% of 2019 amortization and 100% of 2020 amortization should be added back to the respondent's income for support purposes, as they were deemed book entries not reflecting actual depreciation or replacement needs.

The court declined to impute additional cash income due to lack of evidence and also declined to re-categorize the applicant's 2019 wages as support payments.

Child and spousal support amounts were calculated based on the adjusted incomes.