You may not be aware that as of 1 April 2013, most legal help and full public funding (levels of legal aid) in relation to family law matters, are to be withdrawn by the government via the Legal Services Commission.  This means that AFTER 31 March 2013, if you are in receipt of state benefits and/or are on a low income, you may not be able to afford to instruct a solicitor in respect of your family law difficulties.

From 1 April 2013, in most cases, public funding will simply not be available for issues such as divorce/civil partnership dissolution, financial issues and private Children Act issues such as contact and residence applications (public funding will be available in public Children Act issues, eg where there are “care proceedings” and have the involvement of social services, child abduction cases and cases of forced marriage).

The only exception to the above will be where the person seeking legal advice and representation will be the victim of domestic abuse (or an adult seeking to protect an abused child) – but even then the Legal Services Commission’s criteria will be very strict and they will require firm evidence of this alleged abuse before the case can be pursued with the assistance of public funding.

This means that from 1 April 2013 in the majority of family cases, public funding, will not be available to assist individuals and families with their family law issues and will severely impede, from a financial perspective, their access to justice and the specialist expert legal advice and assistance that is available and necessary.

The greatest section of society that this will affect will be the children of separated parents.  Their parent will not have the assistance of a qualified legal individual to guide and advise them through an often very emotional and stressful procedure, which often end in court proceedings.  That child/children/grandchild, through absolutely no fault of their own, may lose contact with their parent or other family members, including siblings and half-siblings, simply because of the costs involved and the parent’s/grandparent’s prevention from obtaining legal assistance because of the demise of legal aid.

The courts are also concerned that because of this financial obstacle, the court process will be “clogged up” and slowed down dramatically due to people trying to represent themselves. In most cases, the delays will be because of a lack of understanding of the law and legal processes by those individuals.

If you are in receipt of state benefits and/or are on a low income and are experiencing family difficulties due to a breakdown of a relationship and require advice and assistance on divorce/civil partnerships, financial issues and/or children matters, then please contact us as soon as possible as the deadline for legal help and public funding ends on 31 March 2013.  We will be able to assess your eligibility and provide you with a wealth of advice and assistance in respect of all family law matters.

Now is the time to act.  Please call the office on 01484 538421 and ask to speak to a member of the Family Team or e-mail us at familyteam@ridleyandhall.co.uk.