Despite common opinion, Legal Aid is still available if you require advice, assistance and representation in family cases.
Here at Ringrose Law we offer Legal Aid in most family scenarios subject to a positive Legal Aid assessment. The term that we are all using is whether something is “in scope”. Legal Aid is still available for cases involving help with Social Services, Child Protection Conferences, Care Proceedings (if Social Services are taking you to Court and trying to remove your children from your care) enforcement of contact and residence orders, child abduction cases, injunctions are all in scope and we continue to offer Legal Aid for all of these matters. You are required to have a financial assessment of your circumstances unless you require advice and representation in care proceedings.
Matters that now fall “out of scope” include contact, residence, divorce and financial matters. As a starting point however these can be brought into scope by one of two ways. Firstly, if there is evidence that the person requiring legal advice and representation has been the victim of a domestically abusive relationship and there are a number of evidence requirements to satisfy this. These include a letter from your GP confirming you have presented with symptoms consistent with being in a domestically abusive relationship or that you have obtained an injunction against your partner. In children cases, they fall back into scope if certain requirements are satisfied. There are many different ways but the most common is if your children are subject to a Child Protection Plan or there is a Social Worker involved to help and support you in protecting your children from an ex-partner or family member who is seen as a risk to your children.
The rules are not as complicated as they seem and we have found that local agencies and professionals are very willing to help and support those parents who need help obtaining Legal Aid.
Legal Aid is still available, to find out if you are eligible for Legal Aid, contact us at any of our offices for a free assessment of your circumstances.