The £75 fee for domestic violence injunctions will cease from 22 April, as part of an overhaul of the fees charged in civil and family courts in England and Wales.
The changes will also mean hardworking taxpayers will no longer have to cover so much of the bill for operating the courts. At present around £100m of running costs have to be found from general taxes each year.
Under the plans confirmed today, the fees for civil courts (not criminal courts) will be adjusted to address the shortfall.
The changes include:
- Scrapping the £75 application fee for domestic violence injunctions which will help thousands of women seeking non-molestation and occupation orders. More than 20,000 applications were made in 2012.
- Increasing the fees for cases involving claims for money (for example when someone makes a claim for compensation) on a sliding scale, with a maximum fee of £1, 920 .
- Introducing a standard fee of £280 for civil cases which are not about claims for money (applying for someone to be declared insolvent or to repossess property for example) – instead of the current mixture of fees.
Fees will stay the same for cases involving sensitive family issues including child contact, divorce financial disputes and adoption applications – and there will be a reduction in the fee for local authorities to apply to take a child into care.
If you are affected by any of the above changes or would like to talk to one of our family team then please contact us at one of our offices across Lincolnshire and Newark.
24 Hour Legal Advice Domestic Violence Helpline
Call Free from a Landline 0808 156 3863
Call or Text 07872 456369