When a family’s annual income is well below the national average, the last thing it can afford is a costly court case. But, such a family may still find there are issues that require the rubber stamp of law; otherwise life might become even more unbearable. One such legal necessity is divorce. Even if the couple concerned do not hire a solicitor to see through the entire process, there would be costs involved in running the case itself at court. The Government of the
The Legal Aid is a Government funding system wherein certain financial support is given to individuals who are embroiled in a legal case. This was formerly administered by the Legal Aid Board, but has now been taken up by the Legal Services Commission. The correct term is Community Legal Service Fund, though Legal Aid is how it is still described by most. This is the major source of financial help for those who find it difficult to afford a divorce. To obtain this benefit one must suit the requirements laid out by the authorities concerned.
Requirements for Obtaining Legal Aid
The following list summarises the requirements to be fulfilled for obtaining legal aid:
- The applicant’s monthly income should be less than GBP 2,000 (considering all sources of earning), and he should have property (if any) valued at less than GBP 3,000.
- If the economic condition of the applicant is so bad that he is unemployed or underemployed, he would be receiving the Income-based Jobseekers Allowance, and he would automatically qualify for getting Legal Aid.
- The third thing taken into consideration is the total disposable income of the applicant. This is the portion of the income left over after paying his taxes and insurances, and deducting the expenditure for dependants. If the person concerned is a parent with a child who is physically or mentally challenged, then the recurring expenditure for this child will also be taken into consideration. In case the child needs help throughout life, the consideration will be affected again.
- When Legal Aid is wanted for proceedings other than divorce, the joint income of both spouses is taken into consideration. But for divorce, this obviously cannot be done since this is the precise area of dispute.
Expenses Covered by Legal Aid
The main expenditure in a divorce comes from two sources – paying the lawyer and the time taken to resolve the case itself. The maximum expenditure in a divorce case is incurred from paying the fees of the solicitor. Legal Aid takes care of paying these fees. It must be noted here that a lot of time is wasted in several cases when the proceedings get prolonged due to disputes over custody of children, financial matters or any other reasons. It will become impossible for the government to support this system of funding if it has to pay for these long-drawn court cases. Therefore, it offers Legal Aid to those who want a divorce by consent. And it is a fact that no-fault divorces are on the rise in the
The other service that Legal Aid provides is free legal and financial counselling. This is by no means as insignificant as it may sound. It saves all those pounds that would have been charged by the lawyer if one wanted the necessary but costly advice of him. Besides, a lawyer is usually a very busy man. Even if he had the goodwill, he may simply not have the time to attend to all the queries of the client on related issues without charging for it.
Payback Time
A government is equipped to help its people if it is financially solvent itself. Any public fund, after all, is composed of people’s money. The aim of Legal Aid is to help people get over an economic hurdle. If they are able to recover their finances, then they are expected to pay back the help that they received from this funding system. This will happen if they win the case and have their expenses paid by the loser, and if they also win property and capital through the case. However, one need not pay back if the amount is less than three thousand pounds. Thus the system can keep functioning.
