Family Law Legal Aid

As a provider of family Legal Aid, our solicitors can offer assistance in the following areas of law:

Public Law Care Proceedings – Court proceedings initiated by the Local Authority Children’s Services.

Private Law Family Proceedings – Family matters where there has been evidence of abuse (emotional or physical harm).

• Non-molestation Orders from the Court, more commonly known as an injunction.
• Divorce or separation from an abusive partner and arrangements for financial remedy
• Occupation Orders – these decide who can live in the house
• Child Arrangements,Parental Responsibility, Special Guardianship, and Specific Issue Orders
• Prohibited Steps Order – the removal of a child without consent.
• Enforcement – enforcing an order of the Court.
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There are different levels of legal aid available: 

• Legal Help (Family Help Lower) – Provides initial legal advice and assistance. 
• Legal Representation (Family Help Higher) – Covers legal representation by a solicitor or barrister at court and case preparation.

Eligibility

Your financial situation is not taken into account for Public Law care proceedings; it is neither means-tested nor merits-tested.

Whether you qualify for Private Law Family Legal Aid will depend on the type of case and your financial circumstances. 

• Scope: Does the case fall within the scope of Legal Aid? (not all matters are covered). 
• Means test: an assessment of an applicant‘s financial eligibility.
• Merits test:  assesses the merits of the case, including the likelihood of success, the reasonableness of costs, and the benefit to the client.

To check whether you might be eligible for Legal Aid please visit www.gov.uk/civil-legal-advice. 

Will I have to pay the Legal Aid back?

During proceedings, if your financial circumstances change, you will be required to report this to the Legal Aid Agency. An example might be that you stop receiving benefits because you have started work.  You may be required to complete a further means assessment. The Legal Aid Agency will decide on your eligibility, and you could be asked to pay some contributions towards costs, or you may no longer be eligible for legal aid.  

Statutory Charge – if you gain or preserve money or property at the conclusion of the case, you will need to repay your Legal Aid costs to the Legal Aid Agency after the case ends. This is done through the ‘Statutory Charge’. This charge can be deferred if the property is to be used as your home. Your solicitor will discuss this with you at the outset of the case, particularly if your case includes financial remedy proceedings.