Legal

Legal aid in England and Wales
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What is legal aid?
Put simply, legal aid is when the government pays your legal costs or part of them when you are unable to afford them subject to proof and the merit of your case. Sometimes you may have to pay a contribution and you have to repay the costs on receipt of money or property from a settlement.

The legal aid scheme
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) directly funds legal services for eligible clients. Since April 2nd 2001, only organisations with a contract with the LSC have been able to provide advice or representation funded by the LSC. In family law, only specialist firms are funded to do the work.

How do I qualify?
Legal aid is a complex system which often changes but basically if you are receiving income support, income based jobseeker's allowance or guarantee state pension credit, then you will be eligible with regard to capital and income limits.

If you are not receiving one of these benefits, you must be able to show that your capital and your income are within current financial limits. Please note that if you are living with a partner (not your spouse), his or her income and capital are also taken into account.

Are there different types of legal aid?
Yes. These are known as:

Legal help
This provides initial advice and assistance. It was previously known as the 'green form' scheme.

Help at court
This allows for a solicitor or adviser to speak on your behalf at certain court hearings, without formally acting for you in the whole proceedings. Legal help and Help at court enable people of moderate means to get help from a solicitor or adviser for as long as the solicitor or adviser agrees that there is sufficient benefit in continuing with the case or unmtil the case is funded in another way.

You must apply asap for thee two types of assistance as they cannot be applied for retrospectively. This means that unless there is a proven emergency, there will a waiting period for legal aid to be granted.

If you need extra help, your solicitor or adviser may advise you to apply for a higher level of funding such as General family help or Full representation as detailed below.

If people are eligible for Legal help or Help at court they should not be asked a fee.

Family mediation
This covers mediation for a family dispute. This means trying to reach an agreed settlement with the help of an independent mediator. (See our mediation section for further details).

Help with mediation provides legal advice and assistance if you are attending family mediation as legal advice is always required during the mediation process.

General family help
This includes the services under Legal help to resolve a family dispute through negotiating or otherwise. But it also includes issuing proceedings and representation where necessary to secure the early resolution of a family dispute. it also includes obtaining a consent order following an agreement of matters which were in dispute. It does not cover representation at a contested final hearing.

Legal representation
This means that you can be represented at court if you are taking or defending court proceedings. There are two types:

Investigative help - funding is limited to the investigation of the strength of a claim.

Full representation - funding is provided to represent you in legal proceedings.

Both these types of help could be granted on an emergency basis under certain criteria.

Conditional fee agreements
Some cases which were previously paid by legal aid are now carried out under a conditional fee agreement (CFA). A CFA is a private agreement between you and your solicitor. Usually you will not pay any coststo your solicitor if you lose your case but it all depends on the agreement which you draw up together.

Low cost or free interviews
In addition to the above levels of service, some solicitors are prepared to give a free or low cost initial interview whether or not you qualify for legal aid. The Divorce Aid Directory gives details of our recommended firms and details whether they provide legal aid or special interviews. The Team has however spoken to many people who try to visit several firms offering this service and never really take the advice of one particular firm. This of course does not lead anywhere and can waste valuable time.

Who decides on eligibility?
It is either a solicitor or adviser who decides on this and you will be told at once when you are assessed.

Online calculator guide
If you are on a low income and/or benefits other than the ones listed at the top of this page and think that you may be unable to pay legal fees, it is best to find out straight away if you could be eligible. For more information about legal aid, check out CLS Direct's Legal Aid Calculator You will be asked a series of questions about your legal problem and financial situation. This shows you how to work out your disposable capital. This will give you a guide only and it will not mean that you are definitely eligible.

For reasons of data protection, none of the information entered into the calculator is saved, so it is completely confidential and anonymous. You can print out the results at the end for your own records. To get the most accurate results you may need to have certain personal documents to hand. You can then search for a solicitor in our section Find a solicitor. If a suitable one is not listed, please use the email link below to contact the Team - after having used the Legal aid calculator and tell us if you think you are eligible. Please note that the Divorce Aid Team is unable to assess you for legal aid. It has to be a solicitor or adviser.

Is finding a legal aid firm difficult?
Sometimes this can be a lengthy quest. Firms which have a legal aid franchise sometimes fill their quotas. You could ask for their recommendation of a suitable firm in the local area or come back to the Team here. You may have to travel a bit further to access it. We will need your name and address together with your spouse's full name and your contact number. Please also include some brief case details, including finances, so that we can try to place you appropriately.

 More information
If you want more information on financial eligibility, visit the Legal Services Commission website, where there is a leaflet called 'A practical guide to Community Legal Service funding by the Legal Services Commission'. Some of the information above has been abridged from this publication which is a 30 page A4 document.

Extra costs you may have to pay and the statutory charge
The money or property you get with the help of public funding will be used first to repay your legal costs to the Legal Services Commission and you will receive anything left over. There are some exceptions and rules but these change from time to time. As always, be guided by your solicitor.

If the statutory charge has to be paid
Payment can be postponed if the charge relates to your home or the home of your dependants. The statutory charge can also be postponed where it is to be paid out of money which is to be used to buy a home for yourself or your dependants. Your solicitor will give you more information about the effects of the statutory charge before you decide to go ahead with your case.

Time limits
A solicitor may need more than the two hours (three hours for divorce or separation cases) limit set under the legal help scheme to finish the work, and in these cases, may be able to extend the time. Also, there is a financial limit to the work that the solicitor or organisation can do. If the work would cost more than this limit, the solicitor or organisation will need the permission of the Legal Services Commission (LSC) to extend the limit. The solicitor or organisation must not carry out further work unless the extension has been granted. If the extension is not agreed, you will have to pay the full amount for the work to be completed.

How to apply
If you qualify for the legal help scheme, you will need to see a solicitor, or organisation with a contract to provide legal help under the legal help scheme. The solicitor will ask you to fill in an application form at the start of the interview. The solicitor will then be able to decide whether you qualify. You will be told straight away and no reason has to be given if you are refused.

National Asylum Support Service
If you receive benefits from the National Asylum Support Service (NASS), special rules may apply. To find out if these rules apply to you, you should contact a legal adviser.

Repeated applications
You must tell your solicitor or adviser if you have had Legal help or Legal help at court about the same problem paid for by the Legal Services Commission or by the previously named Legal Aid Board. You may be able to receive Further help with funding but you have to give full details.

Who pays the solicitor?
The LSC regional office will pay your solicitor's bill, less any contribution you may have to pay.

Is there a law about legal aid?
Yes, the provision of legal aid is contained in the Access to Justice Act 1999 and the Funding code, guidance, regulations, directions and orders made under that Act.

Children
Children can be eligible for Legal help and help at court. Most cases concern a child below the age of 16 who needs the help of a solicitor. A parent or guardian should apply on the child's behalf. Sometimes a solicitor can advise a child directly. Please find more details in our Teenager section. The parents' or the guardians' means will be taken into account in assessing eligibility unless there is a conflict between the child and parent.

Public legal funding in Scotland and Northern Ireland
There are separate schemes in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Please refer to our separate sections for these areas.

Legal funding abroad
Many foreign countries have legal aid schemes but not as generous as the English system. Both England and Wales have agreements with some European countries. For further details about Europe and other countries, please refer to our International section.



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