Costs are determined by the Tariff of Costs. The various “Columns” represent the complexity of the Court action. The Court has wide discretion to award costs. In fact, costs may be the most uncertain part of any litigation because they are so discretionary. That being said, in family law matters the successful party is presumptively entitled to costs, and then it is up to the less successful party to rebut that presumption. 

In a family law proceeding, the successful party is presumptively entitled to costs for either the application or a full trial. If both parties are marginally successful, the court may apportion courts by a percentage of how successful the parties were.  If costs are awarded after a trial, they can be awarded for the entire life of a file, based on which party brought various applications. Costs are very fact-specific and will depend on your own personal experience. 

Likely not. Even though you may be able to recoup a good percentage of your costs, the Tariff of Costs is not based on lawyer fees. Therefore, a lawyer may charge more than whatever you would be able to recoup form the tariff.  

Likely not. While you may be able to recoup a substantial portion of your costs, you will likely still end up paying out of your own pocket for the litigation, not matter how unreasonable your opposing party may be. 

If the opposing party refuses to pay the costs ordered by the Court, there may be certain court processes that you can use for enforcement. This will depend on your situation, and exactly what costs the opposing party is refusing to pay.