There have been some significant changes to Legal Aid (also known as Public Funding) which may have an effect on your ability to obtain a Legal Aid Certificate in the future.
As of April 2013, the general position is that there is no longer any Legal Aid available for family matters with the exception of Care Proceedings and matters involving Domestic Abuse. This has, therefore, significantly affected the following areas of work:
1. Divorce;
2. Finances following divorce and/or separation; and
3. Private Law Children - i.e Contact and Residence.
However, if you are at risk or have suffered domestic violence, then funding may still be available but only in very specific circumstances. If these circumstances are met, then both Legal Help and a full Legal Aid Certificate will be available subject to you also being financially eligible. To obtain Legal Aid in these specific circumstances documentary evidence of one of the following must be provided to our office, together with up to date evidence of your income and capital before Legal Aid will be granted:
1. An injunction or an Undertaking has been made or given in Court;
2. There is a criminal conviction, caution or ongoing criminal proceedings;
3. There is a Multi-Agency Risk Assessment Conference (MARAC) Plan;
4. There has been Findings made by a Court following a Finding of Fact;
5. There has been an admission to a refuge;
6. There is a letter from a Health Professional; and
7. There is a letter from Social Services confirming Domestic Violence;
Please note it is not possible for Legal Aid to be granted to assist in obtaining the above information. You will need to obtain this yourself and provide us with a copy prior to any work commencing.
Legal Aid will remain available to pursue a Non Molestation Order as a result of domestic violence and it is not necessary to have any evidence of the domestic violence if an immediate application is going to be made to Court for a Non Molestation Order. In addition, Legal Aid for Care Proceedings will continue and these changes do not effect this area of work. Legal Aid is also still available for Mediation and Help with Mediation.
If you are currently represented in relation to one of the areas that was affected by the changes in April 2013, we can continue to represent you under your current level of funding but it will not be possible to obtain any additional funding unless you meet the new criteria.
Please be aware that if your Legal Aid certificate lapses after April 2013 for any reason i.e. you fail to pay a contribution, fail to return information to the Legal Services Commission or you are no longer financially eligible, then it will simply NOT be possible to obtain a further Legal Aid certificate after that date unless you meet the new criteria.
Consequently, it is very important that you reply to any correspondence from the Legal Aid Agency and continue to make any contributions payable. It will also be necessary for you to consider the potential impact on your Legal Aid Certificate if your income changes. In any event, you are under a continuing duty to inform the Legal Aid Agency of any changes to your income and this may result in a reassessment of your eligibility, as per the declaration you signed - when obtaining Legal Aid.
If you are unsure about this, then please contact us using the details at the top of this page to discuss the changes in more detail.