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Costs

In this case study on family law – alimony, Member States were asked to advise the suing party on litigation costs on litigation costs in order to consider the following situations: Case A – National situation: Two persons have lived together unmarried for a number of years. They have a three year old child when they separate. A court decision grants custody of the child to the mother. The only outstanding dispute relates to the amount of the alimony owed to the mother by the father for the support and education of the child. The mother sues on this. Case B – Transnational situation where you are a lawyer in Member State A: Two persons have lived together unmarried in a Member State (State B). They have a three year old child. They separate. A court decision in Member State B gives the child’s custody to the mother. With the agreement of the father, the mother and the child move to live in another Member State (Member State A) where they establish their residence. An outstanding dispute remains. This relates to the amount of the alimony owed to the mother by the father for the support and education of the child. The mother sues on this in Member State A.

Costs in Germany

Costs for Court and Appeals

Case Study	Court	Appeals
	Initial court fees	Initial court fees
Case A	Depends on level of maintenance sought	Depends on level of maintenance sought
Case B	Depends on level of maintenance sought	Depends on level of maintenance sought

Costs for lawyer, bailiff and expert

Case Study	Lawyer		Bailiff		Expert
	Is representation compulsory?	Average costs	Is representation compulsory?	Post-judgment costs	Is use compulsory?	Cost
Case A	Yes	Depends on level of maintenance sought	No	Depends on type of enforcement measure	At the court’s discretion	Based on hourly rates, level differs according to area of activity, max. EUR 100 plus expenses and turnover tax
Case B	Yes	Depends on level of maintenance sought	No	Depends on type of enforcement measure	At the court’s discretion	Based on hourly rates, level differs according to area of activity, max. EUR 100 plus expenses and turnover tax

Costs for witness compensation

Case Study	Witness compensation
	Are witnesses compensated?	Cost
Case A	Yes	Loss of earnings, max. EUR 17 per hour, travel costs and other expenses
Case B	Yes	Loss of earnings, max. EUR 17 per hour, travel costs and other expenses

Costs for legal aid and other reimbursement

Case study	Legal Aid	Reimbursement
	When and under which conditions is it applicable?	Can the winning party obtain reimbursement of litigation costs?	Are there instances when legal aid should be reimbursed to the legal aid organisation?
Case A	Depends on income and financial situation	Yes	Improvement in the person’s income and financial circumstances and in the case of payment by instalments
Case B	Depends on income and financial situation	Yes	Improvement in the person’s income and financial circumstances and in the case of payment by instalments

Costs for translation and interpretation

Case study	Translation		Interpretation		Other costs specific to cross-border disputes?
	When and under which conditions is it necessary?	Approximative cost?	When and under which conditions is it necessary?	Approximative cost?	Description
Case A
Case B	At the court’s discretion	Normally EUR 1.85 per 55 keystrokes plus expenses and turnover tax	At the court’s discretion	EUR 55 per hour plus expenses and turnover tax	Service of documents abroad

Last update: 04/11/2020

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