Costs Allowances in Abduction and Relocation Cases

Legal Services Orders and Costs Allowances. In England the possibility of securing funds from the other party to pay for litigation against that party have expanded significantly in recent years as a result of statutory and judge-led developments. In part this has been to fill the void created by the reduction in availability of legal aid but also has been a natural evolution from the ‘sharing’ principles and from a greater judicial willingness to be more flexible in interpreting the provisions of Schedule 1. A return perhaps to unlocking the principles of equity which lie captive in the judicial breast. Legal services orders are available under the MCA 1973 and costs allowances can be applied for under Schedule 1 Children Act 1989. Recent examples include Rubin-v-Rubin [2014] EWHC 611 (Fam) (Mostyn J 10 March 2014) - this contains a very helpful analysis of the criteria and explores the possibility that such orders might be available in Hague Convention cases. Re PG AND TW (No 1) (Child: Financial Provision: Legal Funding) [2012] EWHC 1892 (Fam)(Theis J; 4 May 2012) For a useful overview of both, see the articles by David Burrows in Family Law: ‘Costs allowances and legal services orders: MCA 1973, s 22ZAQ and 22ZB' [2013] Fam Law 318 and ‘Costs allowances in family proceedings' [2013] Fam Law 457).