This page gives basic information about the availability of Legal Aid from 1st April 2013 and sets out some the most common areas of family law for which you might seek Legal Aid. This is not an exhaustive list and you will need to ask us specifically if the matter upon which you seek advice is not included below.

Care and Supervision Order Proceedings and Public Law Outline Meetings

If you have Parental Responsibility for a child and the Local Authority are applying for a Care Order or a Supervision Order or if you have received a letter from the Local Authority inviting you to a Public Law Outline Meeting (PLO), you will be entitled to Legal Aid without any further assessment of the merits of your case or of your financial circumstances. We need to see the PLO letter or details of the court application.

Domestic Abuse Injunctions

If you are the victim of domestic abuse and need an injunction from the court to protect you from harm or to exclude another person from your home, you must pass a means test and a merits test before you can have Legal Aid.

The merits test must identify that you have a case that a reasonable person of modest means might think it worth spending money on. You will not normally get Legal Aid if there are bail conditions or other criminal sanctions providing you with protection and we may have to write a warning letter to the other person on your behalf before Legal Aid is available to go to court.

The means test means that we must assess your financial circumstances. Here is the list of documents that you must bring with you to your appointment with us. If you fail to bring these documents, we will not be able to assess your means and we cannot proceed with your case under Legal Aid.

Divorce, Dissolution of Civil Partnership,
Children disputes not involving the Local Authority,
Arguments about Money or Property

You will not be entitled to Legal Aid unless:-

1. You pass a merits test; and
2. You pass a means test: and
3. You are a child, a victim of domestic violence, the proceedings involve the unlawful removal of children or protection of children.

You will pass the merits test if you have a case that a reasonable person of modest means might think it worth spending money on.

The means test means that we must assess your financial circumstances. Here is the list of documents that you must bring with you to your appointment with us. If you fail to bring these documents, we will not be able to assess your means and we cannot proceed with your case under Legal Aid.

To prove that you are a victim of domestic violence you will need to bring with you to your appointment one of the documents on this list. If you fail to bring one of these documents, we will not be able to proceed with your case under Legal Aid.

We are waiting for the Government to clarify what they mean by the "unlawful" removal of a child. It probably means that you will need to have good reason to believe that someone is about to remove your child from the jurisdiction of the court. It probably doesn't mean that someone is refusing to return your child after a contact visit.

To show that there is a child protection issue, you will need to bring with you to your appointment one of the documents on this list. If you fail to bring one of these documents, we will not be able to proceed with your case under Legal Aid.

Please read the pdf for Terms of Business.