Claudia C. Belda

Following a four-day family law trial where the applicant mother was largely successful on the issues of custody and parenting, she sought partial indemnity costs of $17,000.

The respondent father, who was self-represented, did not provide costs submissions.

The court awarded the applicant $10,000 in costs, noting the respondent's refusal to accept a clinical investigator's findings and insistence on a trial.

Half of the costs award ($5,000) was designated as a support order to be collected by the Family Responsibility Office.

On a family law motion to change, the respondent mother sought to vary a final order respecting access, child support, and spousal support arrears after the applicant father's employment circumstances materially improved.

The court amended access to reflect the father's out-of-town rotating work schedule, recalculated retroactive and ongoing child support based on actual and projected income, and rejected any shared-custody offset because the father did not meet the 40 percent threshold.

The court also apportioned unpaid section 7 expenses according to the parties' incomes and reactivated enforcement of spousal support arrears.

Costs were awarded against the father because his failure to comply with disclosure obligations made the motion necessary.